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Josh Thomson has chimed in with his take on Jake Paul’s recent callouts of Michael Bisping. In an edition of the Weighing In Podcast, former UFC lightweight Thomson and ex-MMA referee John McCarthy asserted that Paul shouldn’t be pursuing a fight against Bisping.
Despite dealing with a loss of vision in his right eye and multiple injuries in the latter years of his MMA career, Bisping managed to compete against the best till his final fight in 2017. Bisping’s since opened up about the vision loss, injuries, and surgeries he’s been through – including two knee replacements.
Thomson and McCarthy suggested that calling out a fighter like Bisping – who’ll likely not even receive the medical clearance to fight – isn’t a good look for Paul.
Furthermore, McCarthy opined that if the cruiserweight pugilist wants to face an MMA legend in the boxing ring, he could call out Anderson Silva. Thomson replied by proposing a fight between Paul and another MMA legend, Vitor Belfort. Thomson stated:
“What about Vitor Belfort? I’m okay with that, too.”
McCarthy approved of the Belfort matchup but then asked who Thomson considers a greater legend between Silva and Belfort. ‘The Punk’ noted that he viewed Silva as a greater legend. On that note, they seemingly agreed that Silva ought to be the first choice for Paul’s next fight. Thomson said:
“I don’t understand why he [Paul] is calling out Michael Bisping. Doesn’t make any sense to me. And I like how Michael responded, too – Do you want to fight a guy who’s got one eye, two knee replacements, this and that. He’s like, yeah, alright, okay, whatever.”
Watch Josh Thomson and John McCarthy discuss a possible Paul-Belfort matchup and more in the video below:
Vitor Belfort on a potential fight against Jake Paul
Vitor Belfort is coming off a first-round technical knockout win over boxing legend Evander Holyfield in their heavyweight exhibition boxing match in September 2021. Belfort and Triller Fight Club later made an offer, purportedly worth $30 million, to Jake Paul for a fight against the Brazilian.
See the Instagram post below:
Additionally, speaking to TMZ Sports last September, the former UFC light heavyweight champion vowed to knock Paul out and teach him a lesson. Belfort said:
"I would like to give him [Jake Paul] a lesson. Jake Paul needs a lesson. And everybody wants to see that. But the question is what we're doing to motivate him. That's why he has $30 million. He doesn't earn that money. But I guess how he has a new platform and these new people that he can attract and buy pay-per-view. They want to see him get beat.”
Watch Belfort's interview with TMZSports here:
