UFC Hall of Famer grateful Jake Paul stayed down after Anthony Joshua broke his jaw

Jake Paul couldn’t beat the 10-count in the sixth round of his bout with Anthony Joshua, and one UFC legend is thankful.

Paul and Joshua collided inside the Kaseya Center in Miami this past Friday. Joshua was a massive betting favorite going into the fight with many thinking he would dust Paul within the first two rounds. While that didn’t end up happening, Paul did suffer the fate many expected him to and he suffered a broken jaw by the end of the night.

In a new post on his YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier said that Paul losing to Joshua was always a forgone conclusion (h/t MMAJunkie).

“Some people believe in fairytales,” Cormier said. “Whoever believed that Jake Paul was going to win, that was an absolute fairytale. … There was never a world in which Jake Paul was going to beat Anthony Joshua. It was always a matter of how the fight would end.”

Cormier admitted that he’s glad Paul ultimately didn’t continue fighting on, as he feels things could’ve been even worse for “El Gallo.”

“In the sixth round, you could just tell this fight was over,” Cormier said. “You knew that Anthony Joshua was going to eventually land something that hurt Jake Paul. … That right hand, oh my God. He took all of that right hand. You could see in his face. He was like, ‘OK, now I understand boxing. Now I understand, like, at its worst, what boxing can be’ because he got hit clean by one of the biggest punchers, acclaimed, lots of accolades, world champion heavyweight, and he went down and didn’t get up.

“And honestly, I was hoping he didn’t get up because it was only going to get worse.”

Paul’s boxing days aren’t over, but he will be taking some time off to recover from his jaw injury. “The Problem Child” will remain busy with Most Valuable Promotions, which has been praised for booking marquee women’s fights.

As for Joshua, a long overdue showdown with Tyson Fury might be on the horizon. Joshua has urged “The Gypsy King” to lay off social media and sign on to fight him in 2026.