UFC President Dana White is still wondering why Jake Paul is only challenging smaller fighters.
Dana White’s vow to never speak about Jake Paul ever again lasted all of two months. But even that time span is perhaps longer than what most would have anticipated. In 2021, hardly a week went by without some jab thrown by Paul toward White or vice versa.
According to White, however, that all ended after he felt Paul dodged his challenge of getting randomly steroid tested for two years with White agreeing to get cocaine tested for 10 years in return.
During White’s period of silence, Paul has continued to chirp away, including on a Dana White Diss Track and with continuous challenges to fighters on the UFC roster. Only now, Paul claims he isn’t just open to boxing them, but he has begun to lay down challenges for MMA fights.
The two specific names that Paul has challenged for a fight are Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor. In both cases, Paul made proposals directly to White to make the fights happen with high stakes at play, mostly connected to improving fighter pay and benefits.
But even when Paul’s challenges were restricted to the boxing ring, White wondered why Paul was only challenging—and fighting—smaller opponents. And now that Paul has extended his challenges to MMA fights, White is still wondering the same thing.
White: Call Out Somebody Your Own Size
After White responded to Paul’s latest challenge to McGregor by pointing out the size difference between the two, he threw out a big name who is closer to the YouTuber’s weight that Paul has yet to mention.
“Why isn’t he calling out Israel Adesanya? I know. I know, and you know, and everybody else knows, and he knows, too,” White said in an interview with ESPN.
Jake Paul last competed in December in a viral KO win over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. He currently does not have a fight booked but has continued teasing a potential move to MMA.
Once Paul catches wind of these comments from White, perhaps he’ll extend his list of potential opponents for his potential MMA debut to “The Last Stylebender.” And if White’s rhetorical question also functions as a dare, perhaps White will decide to call Paul’s bluff.
Do you think Jake Paul would be willing to fight Israel Adesanya in an MMA fight?
