Jake Paul is inserting himself in UFC affairs.
Paul cannot help himself when it comes to rustling the UFC and Dana White’s feathers. Paul has made himself famous by beating former UFC fighters inside the boxing ring, but he might be equally as known for his hot takes on how the UFC conducts their business. He is constantly calling out Dana White on fighter pay and the treatment of fighters under the UFC banner. Now, Paul is actively trying to make some changes in that organization.
He announced on Tuesday morning that he has decided to invest his money and purchase stocks of the UFC’s parent company called Endeavor (EDR).
“I’ve invested in EDR (UFC) stock with my partner @geoffreywoo 2 focus on UFCs ESG standards relating to fighters,” he wrote on Twitter. “We believe EDR can drive long-term economic value by increasing UFC fighter pay & providing them healthcare. Reaching out to @EngineNo_1 to partner on this “endeavor.”
Jake Paul’s Business Partner Comments
Paul’s business partner, Geoffrey Woo, also released a series of tweets addressing the move.
“Jake Paul, our partners, and I are excited to announce our latest @antifundvc investment — Endeavor (NYSE: EDR), the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (@UFC) — and our goals for the business as impact investors & venture capitalists.
“My partner Jake has lead the way in changing the business of combat sports by not just talking about it, but being about it — fighter pay, healthcare, & championing women’s sport. And today is our next step in our vision of revolutionizing the industry.
“UFC has faced a rising chorus of criticism for the exploitation of its athletes — the [heart] of biz. The ratio of revenue going to athletes vs. owners & leagues is well below industry standard. This disparity hurts long-term shareholder value & this is not going to magically change.
“Jake is the archetype of the future, where individual transcends the machine. This is happening across all sectors — media, entertainment, & tech start ups where dynamic, innovative individuals & creators are bargaining toe-to-toe w the owners, the institutions, and the academy.
“We believe the best way to accelerate this inevitable revolution is to lead it from within the UFC as co-owners & impact investors. We will use our investment stake to rally fans, athletes, fellow shareholders, and management to do the right thing.
Who am I? I come from Silicon Valley & web3/crypto. Skin in the game, shared equity, and long-term alignment is the underlying incentive model that made Silicon Valley and crypto the most impactful business models of the last 20 years. We intend to apply these models to the UFC,” Woo wrote.
Jake Paul & Fighter Pay
Since his fight with Ben Askren, Jake Paul has made it clear that he wants his opponents to be paid well. He was vocal about his feelings that UFC fighters do not get paid sufficiently. Askren and Woodley both stated that their paydays for the Paul fights were their biggest to date. Woodley was a former UFC champion and still made more for his boxing match, according to him.
Paul thinks the UFC can do better and has been calling out Dana White to make things right. He feels that by buying these shares of EDR, he can somehow make a change to the UFC pay structure and healthcare options.
The amount of stock purchased was not revealed, and it seems unlikely that Paul will have voting rights on such issues. Endeavor is a publicly traded company that purchased the UFC back in 2016 for $4 billion.
Do you think Jake Paul will have any success at changing the UFC pay structure as a shareholder?
