On April 17, YouTuber Jake Paul won against professional MMA fighter Ben Askren less than 2 minutes into the match. This is the third professional win for Paul – who also won matches against YouTuber AnEsonGib and Basketball player Nate Robinson.
Paul claimed in his latest YouTube video that the viral fight with Askren earned $65 million after 1.3 million people bought pay-per-views to watch the match – which were priced at $49.99 in the United States.
Paul shared his excitement over his jaw-dropping win against Askren and dedicated the win to his friend and former security guard Shamir “The Shadow” Bolivar who died ten days before his fight:
“This is the craziest moment of my life. I told you all I was going to do it in the first round. I told you all I’m a real fighter. I don’t know how many times I’ve got to prove myself that this is for real. This is for Shadow, my security guard who passed away 10 days ago. He told me I would knock him out in the first round, he said he had a vision in a dream. This has been the hardest 10 days of my life, I’ve had to hold it together to keep this fight going. I’m just honoured to be here”.
The live match featured star-studded performances from celebrities such Justin Beiber, Doja Cat and Pete Davidson. The event also paid respect to the late rapper DMX and professional boxer Marvin Hagler.
With Jake Paul clearly on a winning streak – we wonder who will be brave enough to take on the YouTube fighter next.