Jake Paul, a YouTuber who has been dubbed “the most divisive and polarizing celebrity in the world of entertainment,” is one of the most contentious and polarizing figures on the scene. Jake Paul will face ex-UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley again this weekend, having beaten him in August. But was Jake Paul a wrestler in school? After he mentioned an Ohio State education, I became interested.
Paul has yet to compete against a real boxer in the ring. Tommy Fury, Tyson’s younger brother, was forced to withdraw from their bout earlier this month due to injury. Paul’s best wins are against former NBA star Nate Robinson and UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, all of whom he defeated.
While he hasn’t officially confirmed that he’ll retire, Paul has indicated that he may soon go into mixed martial arts (MMA).
“For sure, 100 per cent I think it could happen,” Paul responded when asked about a possible MMA fight at a recent press conference. “Why not? If I can learn how to box in two years and beat people like [Woodley], why can’t I learn how to do MMA in two years and beat people like him?”
Jake Paul mentions Ohio State wrestling background during interview
Paul said that he’ll be trained by top coach Javier Mendez, who has worked with former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“For sure I will,” Paul said. “People seem to forget I was a state wrestler, division one in Ohio. That’s one of the hardest wrestling states and I don’t see why, if I can do boxing at this high a level, I couldn’t do MMA at this high a level.”
“I’m going to go and get coached up by Javier Mendes, Team Khabib and that’s that,” he added.
Did Jake Paul wrestle in high school?
After Jake Paul mentioned his wrestling background at Ohio State, people were interested to learn more. Jake Paul is said to have wrestled during high school. He does not, however, possess any academic credentials from a university such as Ohio State.
However, Jake’s older brother Logan has some very impressive wrestling credentials. He took fifth place in the OHSAA State Championships in his final year of high school and went on to compete for Ohio University’s wrestling team. He earned a spot at an NCAA Division 1 institution simply by participating on the wrestling team.
There are plenty of videos of Jake wrestling on the internet, but he appears to be far inferior to his older brother Logan. After moving to Los Angeles in 2014, Logan’s wrestling career came to a close.
Paul and Woodley prepare to face-off this weekend
When they meet on Saturday, December 18th at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, Paul and Woodley will battle once again. Jake won a split decision against an experienced UFC champion in their first bout in Cleveland, shocking many.
Ahead of Saturday’s bout, the trash-talking has already begun, with Tyron Woodley claiming that Jake has attempted to get under his skin by DM’ing him.
“I expect him to do something to try to ruffle my feathers. He’s a kid. There’s going to be some sort of antics,” he told Submission Radio. “He’s already started the social media stuff, he’s sending me DM’s. I’m already expecting that.
“The disrespect won’t be tolerated. Last time they got a warning, this time there’s gonna be action, so I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”
Woodley was compelled to get an “I love Jake Paul” tattoo after losing their most recent bout, which Tyron proved he had actually received. He recently claimed, however, that it had faded away.
“I purposely did it to troll the troll”, he said. “Anybody who has a tattoo on the inside of their hand or a tattoo artist knows it fades. Taking showers, washing your hands, boxing, battle ropes, turf – I didn’t want to walk around with his name on me for the rest of my life.”
