Jake Paul has lived in the public since he was a teenager but with all that fame also came a lot of hate and it led him to a very dark period in his life.

Following stints acting on the Disney channel and building an online brand through social media, Paul actually found himself as public enemy No. 2 after his brother Logan Paul invited a storm of controversy when he posted a video to his YouTube channel of a suicide victim while visiting Japan’s “suicide forest” back in 2018.

The decision to film and post the video was Logan’s choice but Jake was unable to avoid the fallout.

“I got lumped into all my brother’s hate,” Paul told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was like, ‘F*ck the Pauls. F*ck both of those people.’ It was bad. The suicide forest thing basically ruined my career and income. I lost probably $30 million in deals.

“There was one $15 million deal for retail products that fell apart. They were able to get out of it because of a morality clause.”

The downward spiral from that incident left Paul in a very poor mental head space and he began partying in Los Angeles as a way to cope with his struggles.

“Basically, life hit me in the face, and it was like, ‘Who are you? What have you been doing the past couple of years?’” Paul recounted. “It led to drinking and drugs and Los Angeles and going to parties and just that whole entire world. I got sucked up into it really quickly.

“And so there I am: No money, kind of hating myself, the whole world hates me. I’m drinking. I’m depressed and not having a good relationship with either of my parents or Logan. And I was just like, ‘F*ck this shit.’ I just felt wrong in life and by all the cards I had been dealt. It was f*cked up. I just tried to do good my whole life and here I am with what felt like nothing.”

After initially finding notoriety from viral videos posted online, Paul decided take that fame and use it for an elaborate stunt that would actually conclude in his own death.

“I had a plan,” Paul revealed. “I mean, it’s f*cking crazy. I was going to put a bunch of gas cans in my Lamborghini and get really drunk and drive off the top of this cliff in Calabasas. It’s called Stunt Road.”

In the end, Paul obviously didn’t follow through with those plans but it was from that terrifying time in his life that he actually decided to become a professional fighter.

“I was not going to let them win,” Paul said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to fight. This is what every social media hater wants is to wake up and see Jake Paul killed himself.’”

It was boxing that finally gave Paul the structure and discipline he needed to course correct from all the bad decisions he was making.

He credits the sport for saving his life.

“It’s purpose, routine, health, community — all the things I needed,” Paul said. “Since 2020, it’s been boxing’s No. 1 and everything else comes after that. I never really liked YouTube. I was just good at it.”

Paul has parlayed his passion for boxing into a very successful career where he’s put together a 10-1 professional record with a massive fight booked against heavyweight legend Mike Tyson on Nov. 15 with an event that airs live on Netflix.

The European Leagues and world players’ union Fifpro will next week submit their legal complaint about Fifa’s expansion of the Club World Cup to the European Commission in Brussels.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin used his speech to also criticise high profile players for using their platform to make an argument that he says only applies to a small minority of professional players globally.

“We must recognise the match calendar has reached full capacity,” said Ceferin. “Limits have been reached.

“At the same time the impact is very different among clubs and players. Some are over-burdened. The others have spare capacity.

“In fairness to those who are stretched, I stand by what I said two months ago, there is no room for additional matches. But I have to add this, who is complaining? The ones who have the highest salaries and the ones [clubs] with 25 top players. The ones with lower salaries and hardly 11 players are not complaining. They love to play.”

Paris St-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi combines his club role with being chairman of the ECA.

PSG will play at the Club World Cup and Al-Khelaifi said he had taken calls from some clubs disappointed at the two per country limit put on the event by Fifa.

“The players and clubs who are complaining – don’t play,” he said. “I receive complaints about the fact only two clubs are participating from each country. Some want more than two. On the other side they are complaining. You cannot win.

“The calendar has always been an issue. It needs to be solved with all the stakeholders sitting together in an open and transparent way, to see what the best thing is for everybody, not just one set.

“Clubs are financing the ecosystem and salaries are going higher and higher. If we have the same competitions and the same revenues, that is an issue.”

Record: 12-2
Age: 28
Height: 5’8″
Weight: Flyweight
Birthplace: Texas
Next fight: Oct. 6 def. Peter Caballero (14-7) via TKO (punches) – Round 1 at Fury FC 97 in Houston (UFC Fight Pass)

The skinny: Paris Moran is 28 but has two decades’ worth of combat sports experience. At 6, his father put him taekwondo. He hated it – as he did most sports, but along came jiu-jitsu in 2007 and eventually things changed. His parents divorced, and Paris found jiu-jitsu classes as the perfect father-son bonding opportunity – an added bonus. Moran joined high school wrestling. Then came striking. He became a seven-time national champion in sanshou karate (wushu). Next scene, Moran was competing in Russia, China, Costa Rica, Taiwan – you name it.

Moran has been on the cusp of the UFC for a minute. He was seemingly one win away when he took on the other best flyweight in Texas: Joshua Van. He lost, but learned from the defeat. Since then, he’s been dead-set on racking up wins against legit opponents and getting finishes. This month, he got the emphatic lopsided finish he was seeking when he moved up a weight class to put away gritty veteran Peter Caballero in 31 seconds.

In his own words: “I want to let Mick know that 125 or 135, it doesn’t matter. I just need an opportunity. I need a chance to prove myself, so I’ll fight at 135. I’m not a small 135er. I train with 135ers. I’m just a huge 125er and that weight cut sucks, but I make it happen. So if an opportunity at 135 presents itself, I’ll take it and then go back to 125. That’s going to be the home.”

“… The main thing with the UFC and me, from what I’ve been told, is the finish rate. Mick pulled up my record and said, ‘Hey, he’s only finished..’ I don’t know how much it was. Like, four or five of my 11 wins. He’s like, ‘I need him to have more.’ So the goal was to get two more finishes and stay ready. My manager Lou (DiBono) told me, ‘You know, Paris, it’s just the lay of the land. It’s so unpredictable. People fill in on one day’s notice. But as of right now, it looks like they want you to have two more finishes. So let’s plan on two more finishes after Freddy.’”

“Just knowing that my time is coming and whenever it does come, it will just be that much sweeter. I just keep reminding myself of that. It’s nothing personal. It’s just about my fight and my fighting style, so I’ve just got to keep doing what I can to not make them say no, if that makes sense.”

Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway did a heated virtual face-to-face interview ahead of their highly anticipated featherweight championship main event of UFC 308 later this month.

UFC play-by-play announced Brendan Fitzgerald served as the mediator for the two headliners for the Oct. 26 pay-per-view card in Abu Dhabi. Topuria captured the title with a sensational knockout of longtime champ Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February. “El Matador predicts a similar fate for Holloway.

“You will be lights out for the first time,” Topuria told Holloway via ESPN MMA. “Trust me. You’ll become an instant fan. An instant fan you will become.

“And you already know how feels when you have to bounce back. You already have seven professional defeats. I have zero. So you’re going to do it once again, really well. I don’t have any doubts about that. You are a great example of that.”

Holloway spent a lot of time laughing at Topuria’s confidence, and as the current BMF champion following his knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April, “Blessed” had his own promise for Topuria.

“I took a lot of people’s donuts, bro,” Holloway responded. “I hope you like churros, because you’re about to get on Oct. 26, buddy.”

Topuria’s overwhelming confidence heading into his fight with Volkanovski became one of the biggest storylines for UFC 298. The undefeated steamroller delivered on his promise of stopping Volkanovski and bringing UFC gold back to Spain.

The confidence hasn’t wavered for Topuria, as he called Holloway “old,” and plans to put Holloway in the same place he put his previous opponent.

“I already opened a home for old people,” Topuria said. “Volk already has his room, I have another one for you. So I’m going to put you right there after Oct. 26.”

One thing Topuria said that got Holloway’s attention was that the former featherweight champ was “forced” to take the fight with him. Holloway took exception to that, telling Topuria he was the first name he brought up to the UFC brass.

“You were the first guy I asked for,” Holloway said. “I wanted the easiest fight. I want Ilia Topuria. That’s what I said.”

Topuria and Holloway are ready to go for their blockbuster battle for featherweight gold. The current champion doubled down on his promise to stop Holloway, and hopes that the BMF champ shows up in Abu Dhabi.

“Oct. 26, the only thing I’m going to do is take your lights out, and then party with all my people, with all of my team,” Topuria said. “That’s what I’m going to do. And still. … I don’t have any doubts that I will be the first to knock you out, and I don’t even want you to trust in that, because if you’re starting to trust in what I’m saying, you’re not going to show up. And I need you to show up [for] the fight.”

“I’ll show up, bro, I show up every single time,” Holloway said. “You’ve been a fan for a long time, I show up every single damn time.”

England and Greece players will wear black armbands and hold a period of silence in tribute to George Baldock before Thursday night’s Nations League fixture at Wembley.

The England-born Greece international drowned in a swimming pool at his home in Glyfada, southern Athens, on Wednesday night.

Baldock, who joined Greek side Panathinaikos last summer after seven years with Sheffield United, was capped 12 times by Greece.

Sources inside the Greece camp told BBC Sport that the players are “devastated” by Baldock’s sudden death.

Greece sources told the BBC that the Greek FA asked about a possible postponement of Thursday’s game, which kicks off at 19:45 BST, but were told by Uefa that there was no room in the busy calendar.

BBC Sport has approached Uefa for comment.

In a joint statement, the Greece players said: “It is impossible to believe that our dear friend and team-mate, George, is no longer with us. Our pain is indescribable.

“Tonight, we will try to reach the strength of his soul, which is a bright example for us all. Our thoughts are with his family. We will never forget you friend.”

Greece sources said the team found out about their team-mate’s death when returning from training at Wembley on Wednesday night and had “barely slept”.

Many of the players were good friends with Baldock, including Greece captain Anastasios Bakasetas, who also plays for Panathinaikos.

Baldock’s body was found at 22:30 local time (20:30 BST) on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson said there was no evidence of criminal activity.

Toxicology test results are expected in the coming days while police will also examine CCTV footage.

Baldock started his career at MK Dons in 2009 and played more than 100 times for them.

He had loan spells with several clubs including Northampton and Oxford United, before joining Sheffield United in 2017.

He made 219 appearances in all competitions for the club, helping them to promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and again in 2023.

Baldock was born in Buckingham but qualified for Greece through his maternal grandmother and was called up for the first time by manager Gus Poyet in May 2022.

He made his debut for the country the following month in a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast.

After watching Alex Pereira finish Khalil Rountree, Jake Paul is even more confident that he could beat him in boxing.

Paul called out light heavyweight champion Pereira for a boxing match after he scored a TKO finish of Mike Perry in July. “Poatan” responded and was game for a fight.

Pereira is fresh off a violent Round 4 TKO of Rountree to retain his light heavyweight title in Saturday’s UFC 307 headliner. He lost the first two rounds, before finding his groove and battering Rountree.

Paul thinks Rountree exposed Pereira in that fight.

”One thousand percent I would beat him,” Paul told Adin Ross on boxing Pereira. “That’s the thing is, Rountree actually kind of exposed that he doesn’t have a high volume output. He doesn’t like body shots. In MMA, Pereira would rip my head off. But boxing is a completely different sport, and the pace of it, and the style of it.”

Paul (10-1) takes on 58-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson (50-6-2) on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. With Pereira currently under UFC contract, a fight with Paul is highly unlikely.

”He has holes,” Paul said. “I mean, Rountree rocked him, hurt him a couple of times to the body, but didn’t follow up on it. So if anything, this fight showed me, yes, Alex Pereira is great. But I know I would beat him in a boxing match, and I still would love to make that happen. Pressure is on him. If he can find his way out of the UFC contract like Nate Diaz did, then eventually him and I can talk.”

Pereira, a former two-weight division Glory Kickboxing champion, boxed once professionally – a TKO win over Marcelo de Souza Cruz 2017 in Brazil.