Jake Paul is heading back to the boxing ring on Christmas Eve in Dubai, which marks his first bout since he sustained a broken jaw. The American YouTube star turned boxer previously faced Britain's two-time unified heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua last December. Following six rounds, Joshua, 37, landed a right hand that broke Paul's jaw in four places, requiring two surgeries. The American multimillionaire received medical clearance to continue fighting, paving the path for his return. He will fight on December 24 in Dubai, though no broadcaster or opponent has been announced yet.

Paul, 29, stated, "I've spent years proving people wrong, taking risks, and pushing myself against opponents nobody thought I'd face. Nothing that's happened has changed my belief in myself or what I'm working toward. I'm hungrier than ever, and on Thursday, December 24, I'm returning to the ring in Dubai to start the next chapter of my journey. Dubai is a city that thinks big, breaks boundaries, and doesn't believe in limits. That's exactly the kind of place I want to make my comeback. We've got plenty of names on the list; let's see who signs the contract. Merry Christmas, Dubai. Santa Paul is coming to town, and somebody's getting knocked out."

Upcoming Boxing Schedule

The Home of Boxing in 2026

There is a massive year of boxing ahead! It has already been a blockbuster year inside the ring, and it is not going to stop anytime soon! All eyes are focused on the Battle of Britain between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, with the pair set to finally settle their decade-long rivalry in December. But before that, Canelo Alvarez returns against Christian Mbili on Halloween. Here's all the big fights coming up...

October

  • Sat 31 - Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbili - DAZN

November

  • Sat 7 - Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson 2 - DAZN
  • Sat 7 - Chris Billam-Smith vs Cheavon Clarke - Sky Sports
  • Sat 28 - Agit Kabayel vs Nelson Hysa - DAZN

December

  • Fri 11 - Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua - Netflix
  • Sat 12 - Dmitry Bivol vs Callum Smith - DAZN
  • Sat 19 - Anthony Cacace vs Nick Ball - DAZN

Nakisa Bidarian, who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions with Paul in 2021, confirmed that former UFC star Darren Till, 33, is among the fighters in talks. However, Tommy Fury, who defeated Paul in 2023, is not.

Bidarian stated, "Tommy Fury, to be unequivocally clear, he got his last offer from us in Birmingham when we were there for our last MVPW event with Sky. And the only way Jake Paul's ever going to face Tommy Fury is if Tommy Fury shows up with a guarantee that's appropriate for Jake Paul. We are done giving that guy life-changing opportunities and him finding excuses on why not to do it."

Hosting an event during the festive period has been an idea for MVP, as Bidarian believes a strong gap exists for live entertainment. He stated, "It's a moment where everyone is at home. Everyone is kind of focused on their family and some food and they're usually watching some s****y reruns or some second-tier sports product if it's on. So it's a great window. And same for your point around Christmas Eve: Amazon for the first time has a Christmas Eve NFL game this year. Because it's a captive audience with not much else going on. The whole game is can you capture the attention of the consumer to actually watch your content, and so the more competition there is for their attention, the worse off you are. That's just unless you're a hardcore fan or unless you have a massive mega-event like the Super Bowl. So yeah, I like those dates. I've never thought of those dates as being negative; I see them as big positives. Christmas Day is busy, in the US anyways, as it's the NBA and the NFL going back-to-back-to-back. So I think Christmas Eve is better than Christmas Day at the moment."