Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano undercard star open to Jake Paul fight as part of plan to compete in boxing and MMA

MMA prospect Salahdine Parnasse wants to balance MMA with boxing after the biggest fight of his career on Netflix this weekend.

And the 28-year-old wouldn’t shy away from boxing his new boss, Jake Paul, if the opportunity came about.

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France’s Parnasse is hoping to increase his visibility in America and replicate his European success when he faces Kenny Cross on the undercard of Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano on Saturday night.

The event at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, is being promoted by Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and marks Netflix’s first venture into mixed martial arts.

Parnasse fights on a stacked card that also includes MMA’s biggest stars Francis Ngannou, Mike Perry and Nate Diaz.

The Frenchman’s addition legitimised the event in the eyes of MMA fans, given Parnasse is widely recognised as one of the most exciting prospects in the sport right now.

Parnasse became the youngest double champion in KSW’s history at just 24 years old in 2022, and has since become one of MMA’s best fighters under the KSW banner.

But, speaking to talkSPORT.com, the Aubervilliers native revealed he won’t be going back to the gigantic Polish MMA promotion and laid out an interesting plan for the future.

Parnasse’s plan

“No, I think my time at KSW is coming to an end,” Parnasse said through a translator.

Parnasse claimed he was earning $600,000 per fight at one point during his KSW spell, making him the highest-paid fighter in the promotion.

That’s the reason why he’s stuck with KSW throughout his successful years, despite several reported offers to join the UFC.

Parnasse continued: “I also have a passion for boxing, so I see myself doing boxing [after fighting Cross].

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“I know that MVP organises fights in boxing, so why not alternate between boxing and MMA.

“If I could do both, that would be pretty cool…”

Asked about a fight against Paul, who broke his jaw in two places against Anthony Joshua last December, Parnasse added: “Yeah, of course I would fight Jake Paul, if it is possible.”

Parnasse made his professional boxing debut in October last year, destroying former European champion and 36-fight veteran Franck Petitjean in two rounds.

He takes inspiration from MMA and boxing, so, in his eyes, it makes sense to pursue them both.

“There are a lot of fighters who inspired me,” Parnasse concluded.

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“I’m also inspired by other sports, too, like boxing. In MMA, it’s Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor, and Khabib [Nurmagomedov].

“I’m inspired by boxing, because I like boxing. I’ve done a few fights in boxing, so I’m inspired by both sports.”

How likely is Paul vs Parnasse?

Despite the name of the clash sounding marketable enough itself, there is a huge weight disparity between Parnasse and Paul.

Paul weighed in at 216.5lbs for his loss to Joshua, also on Netflix and promoted by MVP, and Parnasse faces Cross at 155lbs this weekend.

Stranger things have happened, though, and Joshua was more than 26lbs heavier than Paul for their fight.

Paul has also fluctuated in weight for most of his boxing journey thus far, and if Parnasse goes on to make himself an even bigger star, there’s no reason why the pair couldn’t fight down the line.

UFC Schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s UFC schedule.