Jake Paul isn’t backing down. Not from fans, not from critics, and certainly not from the towering challenge that is Anthony Joshua. After defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and controversially breaking into the WBA cruiserweight rankings, Paul now finds himself at the center of an unlikely potential blockbuster.

With talks reportedly already underway between Turki Alalshikh and Eddie Hearn, and ‘The Problem Child’ publicly throwing jabs online, the hype around Paul vs. Joshua continues to grow. But not everyone is buying it. And one voice from the MMA world has offered a brutal reality check on the entire situation!

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen took aim at both Joshua and Paul as he stated, “Now, you’re not taking it from Joshua’s standpoint, ‘Hey Joshua wouldn’t agree to that man, he’s so much better, he’s not going to do it.’ You don’t it take it from that standpoint. And it would seem to me that would be the logical standpoint. Why on Earth, if it in fact is an easy fight, would Joshua not do it?”

That part might not surprise you. But here’s where things took a sharp turn. According to Sonnen, it’s not about Joshua protecting his record. It’s about, “The entire reason you come to the media and attempt to manipulate it and talk your way into opportunities because you want the biggest paycheck with the easiest opponent. The Floyd Mayweather approach.” And while that may sound cynical, he argued it’s simply how the business works, calling anyone who takes any other approach to prizefighting a “fool.”

‘The Bad Guy’ then circled back to Jake Paul, stating in the video, “You’re talking about Jake. ‘Jake won’t take it. Jake shouldn’t take it. Jake can’t take. Jake won’t take it’, this is what you’re taking it from. But if that’s true, if this cowardly approach is actually what professional fighters that go in the gym every day and say they want to do this, if that’s really who they are inside, you’re still balanced out at a 50/50.”

So where does that leave Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua? Paul has accepted the idea publicly, and even his promoter Nakisa Bidarian doubled down in an interview with Sky Sports News, where he called the matchup “biblical.”

Joshua, meanwhile, is still recovering after being stopped by Daniel Dubois. According to Eddie Hearn, the Tyson Fury matchup remains the ultimate goal, but they’re open to facing off against Paul in the meantime.

As such, Chael Sonnen’s criticism raises a fair question. If both men know the risks are too high or the rewards not easy enough, are we watching two fighters sizing each other up or two businessmen playing chess? Because according to a former UFC middleweight champion, there might be another reason why Paul has set his sights on the British heavyweight!

Jake Paul receives a brutal reality check from Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping doesn’t think Jake Paul wants to win. He thinks Paul wants respect. In a recent video on his YouTube Channel, ‘The Count’ addressed the hype building around the potential Anthony Joshua matchup as he stated, “There ain’t no way in this world that Jake Paul is going to fight Anthony Joshua, because if he does, he’s going to get slept badly. There is nothing Jake Paul could do to Anthony Joshua.”

Still, he offered a surprising twist. If Paul does go through with the fight? Bisping is ready to tip his hat as he confessed, “Hey, if he goes out there and does fight him, number one, big respect. And if he goes out there and even does okay and gets of out of the first round, I will respect the hell out of it, okay. And no more sh– talk from this guy here.”

But the British legend pointed out that Joshua is a different beast when compared to Paul’s previous opponents. His proof? What happened to former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou back in 2024. Joshua dominated the bout from the start, dropping Ngannou in the first round and then finishing the job in the second round with a brutal knockout, leaving him flatlined on the canvas.

As such, Bisping claimed, “That’s why Jake Paul’s talking about him. He’s trying to get some credibility. He’s trying to seem like a bada—“.

So, between Chael Sonnen’s skepticism and Michael Bisping’s blunt honesty, one thing is clear: stepping into the ring with Anthony Joshua would be the boldest move of Jake Paul’s career. The danger is real, the gap in experience is wide, and the odds? Brutal. But if ‘The Problem Child’ truly wants to silence critics and rewrite his narrative, this could be the fight that does it!