Jake Paul and Francis Ngannou have not bothered to pretend they are close, even after joining forces.
Ngannou is set to feature in Most Valuable Promotions’ first-ever MMA card, taking place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on May 16.
He is scheduled for a five-round co-main event against Philipe Lins, following last week’s news that he had split from the PFL.
With Ngannou now under contract with Paul’s promotion, it was always likely that their relationship would become a talking point.
Jake Paul claims Francis Ngannou ducked him at MVP press conference
It was not long ago that Paul was criticising ‘The Predator’ for turning down a boxing match, something that has only added more tension to their interactions now.
The two shared a handshake backstage, but the topic still came up again during the press conference for MVP’s May 16 event.
The last question of the session went to ‘The Problem Child’, who used it as an opportunity to say he wants a fight with whoever wins the co-main event between Ngannou and Lins.
When asked directly about facing Ngannou, Paul replied: “Yeah, I mean, I’m down. I’ve always been down. You were the option before Anthony Joshua and you ran like a duck and I bet that you didn’t think I’d last longer than you did with Anthony either so you just know that you’d get worked in boxing and I would love to see it someday.”
Ngannou has previously brushed off some of Paul’s remarks as little more than attempts to stir people up.
But when asked again about a potential fight on Tuesday, he said Paul’s recent actions have made him reconsider his stance.
“I really didn’t want to fight you, but now I want to beat you. So, there’s a difference,” the 39-year-old stated.
Read more: