JUST IN ;Oleksandr Usyk special rule in order to fight Jake Paul.

Oleksandr Usyk would be open to fighting Jake Paul in MMA – if the boxing world champion puts one hand behind his back.

Usyk dethroned Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion in Saudi Arabia in May. He and Fury will return to the desert in December for their contracted rematch, but Usyk could then return to cruiserweight where he also reigned as the undisputed king.

That would put him in the same division as YouTube star Jake Paul who has established himself as a professional boxer and takes on former UFC star Mike Perry next weekend. But while a fight with Paul would be a complete mismatch, Usyk’s coach Sergey Lapin joked his man would give Paul a chance by putting himself at a disadvantage.

“Usyk is running out of challenges at heavyweight,” Lapin told Betway. “He accepted the challenge at heavyweight and became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, a lot of work went into this achievement. After the rematch we will see who will remain in the heavyweight division, but Usyk has now passed this level, everyone who stood in Usyk’s way has been overcome. We are now set for a rematch with Fury, after that we will know who will be next.

“He’s proven he’s the best of this generation and, once he’s retired Tyson Fury, he will consider his options. Maybe that’s dropping down in weight again, or maybe there’s a wildcard option on the table for him; be it in the boxing ring, the MMA cage or even Conor McGregor’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

“Can you imagine Usyk and Jon Jones fighting to prove they’re the baddest man on the planet? Or maybe it’s a third fight with Anthony Joshua in the MMA cage. Maybe it’s Jake Paul at cruiserweight, although Usyk would need to fight him with one hand behind his back though to make it fair.”

Paul will take on Perry after the bare-knuckle boxer in Florida after Mike Tyson was forced to pull out of their fight with an inflamed stomach ulcer. Paul’s widely-criticised and controversial fight with the heavyweight legend has been rescheduled for November 15.