Imago
Credits: Imago
Imago
Credits: Imago
For someone talking about uncertainty and retirement, Jake Paul suddenly looks far from done. Fresh off the surprising $200 million offer to Canelo Alvarez, the YouTuber-turned-fighter turned his attention to a much closer target: Francis Ngannou.
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Footage of the two trading barbs over boxing ahead of the inaugural MVP MMA 1, where Ngannou features on the main card, has been making the rounds online.
“What did you dream of when Anthony (Joshua) slept you?” Paul fired the first shot, quickly drawing a response from Ngannou.
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“Of fighting. No, of sprinting,” Ngannou said, taunting Jake Paul for the way he fought AJ during the early rounds of their Netflix bout.
That only prompted the Cleveland native to mock Ngannou by asking whether he went into dream mode when Joshua knocked him out in their 2024 fight.
Jake Paul just took shots at Francis Ngannou right to his face 💀
— Source of Boxing (@Sourceofboxing) May 16, 2026
“You were dreaming when Joshua knocked you out. I know you’re not a boxer…so the first rule of boxing is hit and don’t get hit.” pic.twitter.com/Fhqff3nn8B
As the exchange continued, Francis Ngannou wondered whether this was some kind of joke or just a dream. Paul quickly fired back that Ngannou was the one dreaming when Joshua stopped him in the second round of their Riyadh fight.
“Because I just saw him running,” Ngannou replied. “After you—you were running away all the time, and I didn’t know if it was a fight or…?”
In response, Paul took a more measured approach, arguing that Francis Ngannou is not a boxer in the classical sense because he is not versed in the old boxing wisdom: hit and don’t get hit.
Even then, Ngannou kept circling back to Paul’s jaw injury and repeatedly asked whether it was fully healed. Paul insisted it was “100%” ready.
“We’re going to find out who the better boxer is,” he added. “Let’s do it. Welcome to the show, buddy. Thank you for fighting with MVP.”
Ngannou kept the exchange going by joking that he may have to teach Paul a lesson.
The back-and-forth carried extra weight because the tension between the two had already been brewing for months.
When Jake Paul and Francis Ngannou went at each other online
Last year, after the exhibition match against Gervonta Davis was derailed, Paul began searching for another marquee opponent. Ngannou soon emerged as one of the leading names in the mix alongside Ryan Garcia and Nate Diaz.
The Cameroonian-French fighter, however, had little interest in the matchup despite the offer from Paul’s side.
“I’m like, ‘No, bro, come on,'” Ngannou said, revealing that Jake’s team had reached out to him with an offer. “I mean, don’t disrespect me like that.”
“If it were about the number, I would have told you,” he added. “I’m just not interested; it makes no sense for me. It’s not what I’m looking at right now. The fight makes no sense. That’s what I think; that’s my position.”
The friction only intensified once the two started exchanging potshots on social media. When Paul taunted Ngannou for being scared of facing him, Ngannou replied, “Choose your words wisely, boy. I agree that you need someone to discipline you for what you did to Mike Tyson, but stay in your lane. 😤”
Months later, they cross paths again as Ngannou prepares for the next phase of his MMA career against Philippe Lins on a card headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.
Their latest meeting came just days after Jake Paul reflected on an uncertain future. Triggered by the jaw injury he suffered during the Joshua fight, he acknowledged thoughts of quitting boxing. Yet even with retirement talk hanging in the air, he’s still calling out names.
Paul has already publicly called out Canelo Alvarez for a blockbuster fight, adding even more intrigue to what comes next in his fighting career.
Few expected him to go on a call-out spree this aggressively. But that’s how Jake Paul operates. Expect more surprises soon.
