'I was banned from fighting Jake Paul and denied millions before Mike Tyson stepped in'

UFC star Jorge Masvidal has claimed he was banned from fighting .

Masvidal made a name for himself in UFC, fighting in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions.

The American also holds the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history, having dropped Ben Askren in five seconds at UFC 239 five years ago.

But the Miami-born star claims he was denied the potential chance to pocket millions when the UFC bigwigs banned him from squaring up against online personality turned boxer, Paul.

Reminiscing on his time as a mixed-martial arts fighter, the now-retired Masvidal told : "I'm full time with the UFC, the UFC granted me permission to box outside the company, but one of the names that I wasn't allowed to fight was Jake Paul.

"The reason is, he's trashed the UFC brand too much, he's disrespected Dana and Hunter too much, he said things he shouldn't have said, so the UFC said I'm one of their top sellers, why are we going to allow you to go make some money for this f*****g dweeb over here. So I'm not allowed to fight Jake until I'm done with my UFC career."

Masvidal has since retired from UFC, having decided to call time on his octagon career following a defeat against Gilbert Burns in October 2023.

But now into his forties, Masvidal is unlikely to be stepping into the ring with Paul anytime soon.

Instead, the one-time YouTuber is gearing up for tonight's bout with legendary boxer Mike Tyson, with the fight .

Paul was his outspoken self during the pre-fight press conference, insisting anyone doubting him was a 'dumb person' making a 'dumb prediction'.

He said: "I love it. When I see dumb people saying dumb predictions, I just feel bad for them at the end of the day.

"So who wants to bet on it, huh? Does anybody want to bet on it? I'm shaking hands."

Former world heavyweight champion Tyson, who is now 58 years old, was a touch more reserved, stating: "I guess I'm back, yeah. I'm just happy to be here."

His comments were met by plenty of cheers from the onlooking crowd, to which he replied: "I love you too, thank you."

Paul is said to be pocketing £30million ($40million) for his participation, with Tyson taking home a reported fee north of £8million ($10million).