When Jake Paul booked Gervonta Davis for a November exhibition, boxing fans raised eyebrows. Davis is a 135-pound lightweight king, while Paul fights around cruiserweight. However, that ‘mismatch’ now sits on the scrap heap. Reports indicate legal trouble struck Davis again, leading to the fight’s cancellation and refunds for fans who had already bought tickets. With Netflix still intending to host Paul’s 2025 return, the scramble began for a replacement name big enough to keep the hype alive.

Among those approached? Francis Ngannou. But the former UFC heavyweight champion, who has shared a professional alliance with Paul through the PFL (Professional Fighters League), shut the door with force. “How can they go from Gervonta Davis to Francis Ngannou? Come on,” he told TMZ, noting the absurd weight gap and calling the idea disrespectful rather than flattering. Paul’s response? A single-word jab on X, “Idiot.” and suddenly, ‘The Problem Child’ needed a new storyline!

Junior Dos Santos offers to step into the squared circle with Jake Paul

As the dust settled from Ngannou’s refusal, another heavyweight raised his hand, one with no interest in playing nice. Junior dos Santos, the former UFC heavyweight champion known for 16 knockouts across MMA and bare-knuckle fights, decided this moment was his.

Sitting inside his car, he filmed a message for Paul as he shared on X, ”Jake Paul, Jake Paul, my gosh, man. You’re picking fights again? You’re choosing easy fights again? Come on, man. I thought you had already moved past this phase of your career. But looks like I was wrong. Come on. I saw that you were challenging Francis Ngannou for that boxing fight. And looks like it’s not interesting for him, you know? That’s crazy, man.”

‘Cigano’ admitted he saw Paul calling out Ngannou and believed Jake “would do a good fight against him” in boxing, crediting his skills but calling Ngannou “slow.” Still, his real target was Paul’s matchmaking history: “You shouldn’t be looking for easy fights or for [take] advantage of MMA guys or something like that again, man.”

Then came the offer: no trash talk needed, just a challenge and a promise wrapped in humor as the former champion stated, “You know, let’s do this. Let’s fight me and you. Let’s make this fight happen. You know, I’ll beat you up, but don’t worry. I’ll be gentle. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to knock you out.”

Junior Dos Santos may be 41 and past his UFC prime, but his resume inside the Octagon speaks for itself, plus he also recently won Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA gold. For a man once called the best boxer in UFC’s heavyweight era, this callout isn’t just noise. But would Paul take it? That’s the million-view question.

For a boxer ranked by the WBA after beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. recently, ‘The Problem Child’ apparently sees himself climbing toward Anthony Joshua and boxing’s elite. Yet, the scrutiny isn’t just falling on Jake Paul as a prominent name in the UFC has now raised questions about ‘The Predator’s decision!

Joaquin Buckley raises an eyebrow over Francis Ngannou’s refusal to fight Paul

The surprise twist in this saga didn’t come from Jake Paul; it came from Francis Ngannou‘s refusal. And while fans debated whether ‘The Predator’ was right to turn down the offer, UFC’s Joaquin Buckley didn’t hesitate to jump into the conversation with a raised eyebrow and a challenge of his own, not toward Paul, but toward Ngannou’s logic.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Buckley couldn’t hide his disbelief as he stated, “Out of all those people, the last person I would expect to say no was Francis Ngannou. That is crazy. At the end of the day, this sport is all about getting money. We all prize fighters.”

To him, the path seemed obvious. Yet, as per reports, Ngannou rejected the bout out of principle, calling the idea disrespectful, but Buckley sees it differently. According to him, “When Francis Ngannou said ‘I don’t want to get disrespected,’ the best way to make somebody respect you is when you put your fist on their chin and knock them out – and you get money for it! And you get paid for it!”

Ngannou, of course, has danced only with giants, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, falling short both times but proving he belonged. Yet Buckley’s point lingers because in this whirlwind of callouts and cancelled bouts, one truth hangs in the air: combat sports aren’t just about belts, they’re about moments, money, and the narratives fighters choose to write. So as Jake Paul searches for his next opponent, one question now cuts through the noise: Did Francis Ngannou dodge a circus, or miss a lucrative statement moment? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!