American boxer and YouTuber, Jake Paul will return to the ring on Christmas Eve in Dubai, 10 months after Anthony Joshua knocked him out in Miami.

His promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions, announced the news on Thursday.

The fight is set for December 24 and will be Paul’s first professional bout in the United Arab Emirates. No opponent has been named. Paul said he is weighing “plenty of names”, while MVP executive Nakisa Bidarian said the company is working to finalise an opponent worthy of his return and will share details in the coming weeks.

Paul last fought on December 19, 2025, when Joshua stopped him in the sixth round at the Kaseya Center in Miami. It was the first knockout defeat of his career. He suffered a broken jaw that needed multiple surgeries, and he admitted in the months afterwards that the injury could have ended his boxing career. Bidarian said earlier this month that Paul had been medically cleared to resume fighting.

Paul confirmed the comeback on social media, saying Dubai is a city that thinks big and breaks boundaries, which made it the right place to return. He added a warning to whoever ends up across the ring from him: “Santa Paul is coming to town, and somebody’s getting knocked out.”

Paul has called out a long list of fighters from boxing and mixed martial arts in recent months, including Conor McGregor, Canelo Alvarez, Francis Ngannou, Deontay Wilder, Nate Diaz, Chris Eubank Jr, Ryan Garcia and Darren Till. He has also said he intends to move into MMA in 2027, a sport his MVP promotion has already entered.

The Christmas Eve card will arrive about two weeks after Joshua, who is of Nigerian descent, is due to face Tyson Fury, so the two men who shared the ring in Miami will be back in action within days of each other.

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