“Came here to ball!” Ex-UFC star Derek Brunson calls out Jake Paul after spectacular PFL debut win

From UFC to PFL: Derek Brunson's dominant debut against Ray Cooper III and his challenge to Jake Paul who recently signed with the PFL.

“Came here to ball!” Ex-UFC star Derek Brunson calls out Jake Paul after spectacular PFL debut win

Derek Brunson calls out Jake Paul (Image via: IMAGO, X/PFLMMA)

Derek Brunson debuted at PFL 10 2023 in style with a victory over former two-time PFL champion Ray Cooper III. Brunson signed with the PFL after an illustrious UFC career. In the post-fight speech after the victory, Brunson made an interesting call out of Jake Paul.

Brunson defeated Cooper via dominant fashion, with even two judges scoring two 10-8 rounds. After the victory, Brunson called out crossover boxer Jake Paul. This is what Brunson said in the post-fight interview.

I came here to ball. Where the hell is Jake Paul?
Derek Brunson via PFL World Championships 2023
YouTube video

Jake Paul is signed with the PFL and is rumored to fight Nate Diaz in MMA in 2024. Paul defeated Diaz in a boxing match in August of 2023 and called for a rematch in MMA. However, Diaz did not accept the fight. PFL Chairman Donn Davis and Paul have offered Diaz $15 million to take the fight.

FS Video

Brunson fought exclusively at middleweight in the UFC. He was on the cusp of title contention on numerous occasions. Nevertheless, he remained in the top 10 rankings until he departed from the UFC. Brunson will be part of the PFL’s Light heavyweight tournament in 2024. The win over Cooper put a halt to his losing streak at middleweight. Brunson was coming off losses to Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis, both via finish.

Derek Brunson showers gratitude to PFL after dominant victory over Ray Cooper III

Derek Brunson wasted no time in calling out Jake Paul after victory over Ray Cooper III. After all, Jake Paul is the biggest name in the PFL after Francis Ngannou. Paul and Ngannou are to make their PFL debut sometime in 2024.

Derek Brunson defeated Ray Cooper III
Derek Brunson defeated Ray Cooper III (Image via: X/PFLMMA)

In addition to calling out Paul, Brunson was all praise for the PFL. He said this about the PFL in the post-fight interview with Dan Hardy:

I came for the big fights. I want to put PFL on the map. They showed faith in me, brought me over here, signed me, and I want to put on a hell of a show for the fans. And next time, we're going to look to come out here and get a finish.

Brunson is poised to do big things in the PFL. At the time of his UFC departure, he was ranked in the top 10. In the UFC, Brunson fought the likes of Israel Adesanya, Robert Whitaker, Anderson Silva, Yoel Romero, and Ronaldo Souza, to name a few. With the PFL acquiring Bellator, Brunson can compete in the tournament or regular MMA bout.

In case you missed it!