Jake Paul has said he is open to do what’s needed to get UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov as an opponent, after President Donald Trump told him it was the fight he would want to see.

“I’m down. I’ll build [a village in Dagestan] myself,” Paul affirmed, referring to Nurmagomedov’s home region.

Paul has made a name in boxing by fighting and winning against former UFC stars like Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren, losing just twice against two more puritan boxers in Tommy Fury and Anthony Joshua. 

Despite having previously signed with PFL and promising to debut there, Paul will be marking his first foray into MMA through Most Valuable Promotions’ card headlined by Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano on Netflix, May 16. And with that has come a fresh interest in entering MMA as a fighter, as he told Trump during an interview in March. 

After running through potential opponents in boxing and stating his interest in crossing over while plugging May 16, Paul asked Trump who he’d want him to face. “Probably Khabib,” Trump replied. “I think when they say he was the best, he was great.”

Paul was asked about that fight during an interview with “Complex Sports” and said he would be down to do it either in boxing or MMA. 

“I think that’s a really good match-up,” he said. “I’ve always said one of the biggest fights that can happen in the world is me versus [Conor] McGregor in MMA. But also me versus Khabib in MMA would be massive. So, we need to get Khabib out of retirement. 

He recognized that would be easier said than done. “I don’t think it would be about the money for him. Maybe if it was for a good cause or something that we could do together, that would be interesting.”