"It almost has to be like a cop out" - UFC icon sounds off on MMA veterans backing Jake Paul to beat Anthony Joshua in the ring

UFC veteran Matt Brown recently called out combat sports veterans for backing Jake Paul to beat Anthony Joshua ahead of their fight.

Paul and Joshua are set to throw down in the squared circle at the Kaseya Center in Miami this weekend. While Paul was initially booked for an exhibition fight against Gervonta Davis, the matchup fell through after promoters were forced to cancel the bout due to the WBA lightweight champ's recent legal issues.

With Paul now set to face Joshua in a professional heavyweight boxing match, many expect the Englishman to emerge victorious in dominant fashion thanks to his considerable size and experience advantage. However, some MMA veterans like Demetrious Johnson and Sean O'Malley are backing Paul to pull off an upset victory against the former world heavyweight champion.

In a recent episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, Brown reacted to MMA veterans predicting a win for Paul and said:

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"Here’s the thing, when some of these people make these predictions like, 'Jake Paul’s going to beat him' or whatever. I think it almost has to be like a cop out. It’s kind of a win-win situation. If [Paul] goes out and beats him, 'You f**king called it. You predicted it, you’re the man.' If he doesn’t beat him, 'You really think I thought that?' If you're wrong about it, nobody remembers."

He added:

"You are not a fight expert for calling Jake Paul to win. You’re going against everything that a fight expert would ever take into account. There is zero reason whatsoever to believe Jake Paul has a chance against Anthony Joshua. Does that mean he can’t go out there and win? They’re throwing punches. Punches come fast, and random things happen."

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Nate Diaz predicts Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua boxing match

Like Demetrious Johnson and Sean O'Malley, Nate Diaz also believes Jake Paul could beat Anthony Joshua in the boxing ring this weekend. The UFC legend recently shared his prediction and claimed he's got his "money" on the former Disney star.

In a recent video uploaded to his socials (via @RedCorner_MMA on X), Diaz stated:

"I got my money on Paul. He might get his a** knocked out, but if he don't, Paul is gonna win."

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Edited by Nishant Zende.