Ex-UFC champion raises questions about outcome of Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua

Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling has some serious questions about how the boxing match between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua played out.

With no UFC event last weekend during the promotion’s lengthy hiatus ahead of 2026, most combat sports fans occupied themselves by watching a Friday night boxing event headlined by the heavyweight bout between Paul and Joshua.

The card also saw UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva stop former UFC titleholder Tyron Woodley in the second round. In the night’s main event, Joshua struggled to corner Paul during the early going before he finally connected cleanly with his opponent’s chin in the sixth round and brought things to an end.

Aljamain Sterling Questions Anthony Joshua's Performance vs. Jake Paul

The Paul vs. Joshua matchup has generated a mixed bag of reactions from the combat sports community, and current top-ranked UFC featherweight contender Sterling was surprised to see the bout go on as long as it did.

“You’ve got this Olympic-level, high-caliber level, world-class boxer in Anthony Joshua, who looks like he's playing with his food, and people are sitting there eating it up,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Junkie). “'Oh, Jake's doing a really good job. He's moving his feet. He's staying away.' I'm just like, 'Oh, you're telling me [Joshua] forgot how to cut the ring off?'”

Anthony Joshua fights Jake Paul during a heavyweight boxing bout at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

A former heavyweight boxing champion, Joshua represented a seismic step up for Paul after the 28-year-old took unanimous decisions over Julio César Chávez Jr. and a 58-year-old version of Mike Tyson in his two previous boxing matches.

"That Should Not Have Gone That Long"

Sterling did go on to give some credit to Paul for stepping into the ring with Joshua, but “Funk Master” isn’t convinced that there wasn’t some sort of deal in place to make sure the fight went beyond the first few rounds.

Jake Paul is hugged by his brother Logan Paul after losing to Anthony Joshua during a heavyweight boxing bout. — Jake Paul is hugged by his brother Logan Paul after losing to Anthony Joshua during a heavyweight boxing bout at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

“Maybe there's a lot of people putting money on going past three or four rounds, or something like this. I gotta speculate and wonder about all these other small little details, but I can't bring myself to grasp…I give [Paul] respect. He got his jaw broken. You can’t fake that. But that's what should have possibly happened in the first round…That should not have gone that long.”

Paul will presumably be sidelined for an extended period while his jaw heals up, but the influencer-turned boxer has already suggested he’d be open to meeting former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou in the boxing ring next.

Aljamain Sterling during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

MMA fans are also still waiting to see what’s next for Sterling as 2026 and the UFC’s new deal with Paramount approaches. Currently the promotion’s #5-ranked featherweight contender, Sterling defeated two-time title challenger Brian Ortega in his only outing of the year in August.

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