Oleksandr Usyk has been openly discussing the future of his boxing career and a plan to become the President of Ukraine, and now it has also been revealed that the Ukrainian heavyweight world champion has ambitions to step inside the Octagon.
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) will defend the WBC title in curious circumstances against kickboxing king Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza. The 39-year-old also has his sights set on becoming a four-time undisputed champion after calling out the winner of Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois, who fight for Usyk’s previously vacated WBO title on May 9.
Usyk’s manager, Sergey Lapin, told Casinostugan: “A fight with Jake Paul in MMA at this stage is not being considered. But we are always open to creative and interesting collaborations in the future. If we are talking about crossover fights, a very interesting matchup could be against Jon Jones in the United States.”
Lapin added: “The best heavyweight in MMA against one of the best boxers of his generation could become a very big event if organized properly.”
Jones has not graced the cage in 16 months since he defended the UFC heavyweight title with a third-round TKO against Stipe Miocic. Jones retired from MMA, according to UFC president Dana White, but two weeks later, after the UFC White House event was announced, he announced his return. Following months of speculation that Jones would play a key role in the event, it was announced without his participation. Subsequently, Jones asked for his release from the UFC.
The MMA superstar posted to his X account: “Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up. My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for that fight. Real negotiations. I even came down from my original number, and what was I offered in return? I was lowballed.
“After everything I’ve given to the UFC—the years, the title defenses, the fights—hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing,” he wrote. “Especially when, as recently as Friday, UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number. If the UFC truly feels like I’m done, then I respectfully ask to be released from my contract today.”
