Jake Paul branded ‘stupid’ and ‘ignorant’ as Khabib call out trashed on podcast

"That is the most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard in my whole life."

That was the response of one UFC star when he was asked about Jake Paul and his request to be allowed to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The pair have been in contact over social media, after retired MMA legend Khabib had confirmed he had offered Paul a place in his new Eagle FC fighting promotion.

YouTuber Paul agreed to take part, with one condition, responding: "Deal. Only if I fight you first."

Some might describe the American as brave for agreeing to a fight with one of the UFC's greatest ever competitors, who retired without ever tasting defeat.

UFC light-heavyweight Anthony Smith, however, is less impressed and has labelled Paul as "ignorant" and "stupid" for believing he could go toe-to-toe with Khabib.

Asked about the situation on Michael Bisping's podcast, Smith said: "It drives me crazy. That is the most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard in my whole life.

"Justin Gaethje is a Division I All-American and Khabib had no problem with getting Gaethje down and just controlling him on the ground. No issue at all.

"Jake Paul doesn’t have enough time on this earth left to bridge the gap between him and Khabib wrestling. I just, I have a hard time believing one person can be that stupid."

Paul is angling for a switch to MMA fighting after an undefeated start to his boxing career.

Should Khabib agree to a fight with Jake Paul? Have your say in the comments section.

He has taken part in and won five fights to date, though all were against opponents with no prior professional boxing experience.

Despite that, Paul has previously said that he believes he could "out-strike" Khabib if there were to face one another in an MMA match.

"I would need to practice my kicks for like two years unless the money was right," Paul told MMA Hour at the end of January.

"People would have to come with $25-$35million to even begin a conversation with me. But I would fight Khabib in MMA if they wanted to make that offer. That would excite me if they wanted to make that offer.

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"The fight would be massive right, would probably sell a million to two million pay-per-view buys. All I would have to do is practice my wrestling because I think I could out-strike him standing up."

Paul has also pointed to his previous wrestling experience as a reason why he would be able to make the switch to MMA fighting.

"People seem to forget that I was a state wrestler, division one in Ohio," he told reporters in December.

"I'm going to go and get coached up by Javier Mendez, Team Khabib and that's that.

"They're down, 100 per cent – I've got to go 10-0 or 12-0 in boxing first and then I'll hit that MMA fight."

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