Paddy Pimblett has been warned by fellow UFC star Cody Durden that he should avoid sparring Jake Paul, as the session "won't end well" for him.
The UFC lightweight has had an ongoing internet feud with Paul over the past few weeks, as the pair attempt to come to terms on a sparring match which the American has tabled. They are currently split over a venue, with the YouTuber pushing for Pimblett to take a private jet to his training base in Puerto Rico, while the Brit wants to do it in Las Vegas at the UFC Performance Institute.
But Durden, a flyweight fighter who shared the card with Pimblett for his fight at the first UFC London this year, believes it would be wise for the Scouse fighter to steer clear of Paul. After watching Pimblett struggled to get past Jared Gordon on Saturday, taking a number of clean left hands to his chin, Durden believes it would be wise for him to turn down the offer.
"After last night, I hope Paddy doesn't spar Jake Paul," Durden wrote in a tweet on Sunday following the Brit's pay-per-view co-main event with Gordon at UFC 282 in the T-Mobile Arena. "He is bigger, more powerful, and has better boxing technique. It won't end well."
The feud between Pimblett and Paul began when the UFC star accused the former Disney channel star of fixing his fight with Anderson Silva in October. Paul took an eight-round decision over Silva in Arizona after dropping the legendary former middleweight champion in the final round, but Pimblett believes he saw footage showing the punch didn't land.
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Paul hit back, offering a sparring session between the pair to show the legitimacy of his punching power in person. He wanted Pimblett to fly out to his training base in Dorado, Puerto Rico, offering him $1million if he were to 'win', but forcing him to join his United Fighters Association and help to recruit UK fighters if he 'lost'.
"I was really wanting to like you, I really was; you've got a good thing going for you but then you come out and say my fight with Anderson Silva was rigged," Paul said. "I'm sick and tired of this narrative. It's stupid and pathetic; you're disrespecting the own GOAT of your own sport. You're saying that Anderson Silva is a criminal, that he is a fraud. You're saying Viacom, one of the biggest media companies in the world, is doing criminal stuff.
"I have a proposition for you; since you wouldn't rig a fight, let's spar. Fly to Puerto Rico - I'll get you a private jet - and we can do five three-minute rounds of boxing. If you win, I'll give you $1million, which is what you deserve to get paid Paddy. You know it, but the UFC is not paying you that, you deserve to get paid more. But if I win, you have to join the United Fighters Association and help me sign up all the fighters in the UK. So let's spar, put your money where your mouth is - let's go."
