Jake Paul Targets Boxing Return Then MMA Debut Next Year
Jake Paul is targeting a boxing return at the end of 2026 or early 2027, then an MMA debut inside the next year. The 29-year-old has not named an opponent. He has named a timeline.
“We’re talking to a couple of opponents now, so hopefully end of year/early next year for me to get back into the ring,” Paul said. “I want to get into MMA in the next 12 months or so.”
That is the first clear public calendar he has put on both sports since Anthony Joshua broke his jaw. Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) was stopped in the sixth round on Dec. 19, 2025, at Kaseya Center in Miami. Joshua dropped him multiple times, the right hand ended it at 1:31 of round six, and the jaw fracture needed two surgeries.
He has not fought since. The only other loss on his record is a split decision to Tommy Fury in 2023. Everything else in his boxing run, including wins over Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, and Tyron Woodley, sat on a six-fight streak that Joshua ended.
Paul’s camp has been more specific about the medical side than the matchup. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said Paul was cleared to spar in mid-September, with a goal of fighting by the end of this year and a possible slip into January driven by business, venues, and schedules rather than the jaw. Paul himself is not promising a date. He is promising he wants back in.
He also is not promising a name. “A couple of opponents” is as far as he went. Bidarian has said a rematch with Fury is the fight that makes the most sense if the money works, and that Paul has been keen on Francis Ngannou as well. Neither bout is signed. Paul said after Joshua that he belongs at cruiserweight, not at heavyweight, because Joshua’s punches hurt more than people in his own class.
The MMA half of the quote is the newer problem. Paul has talked about mixed martial arts for years, including a PFL deal that expired in 2026 without a fight. Most Valuable Promotions merged with the PFL in July, and Paul said then that the crossover finally made sense under one company. He talked about a 2027 MMA debut at that time. This week he tightened it to the next 12 months after a boxing return.
That order matters. Boxing first, cage second. He still has to prove the reconstructed jaw can take sparring, then a fight, then a different rule set. A late-2026 or early-2027 boxing date would put an MMA bow in 2027 if the recovery holds. If the boxing date slides, the cage date slides with it.
Paul is still one of the biggest draws in combat sports by the numbers his team cites. That is why opponent talks can drag. Fury’s side, according to Bidarian, has asked for money that does not match what Fury has made since their first fight. Paul can wait. The jaw cannot be rushed.
Joshua is now on a different track, tied to the long-running Fury talks that still have no date. Paul’s next night will not be another former heavyweight champion unless someone puts that contract in front of him. His own words point at a cruiserweight boxing return against one of a short list, then an MMA debut once that is done.
Nothing is booked. The quote is the news. Paul wants to be in a ring by the turn of the year and in a cage within a year of now. The couple of opponents he mentioned will decide whether that is a real card or another interview. Sparring in September is the first test. A signed name is the second. Until then, the comeback is a window, not a fight.