Jake Paul himself may not realize this, but he just stood up for UFC fighters, including Jon Jones, in his attempt to clap back at UFC President Dana White.
At the UFC 261 post-fight press conference, Dana White made one thing perfectly clear regarding Jake Paul. He is not interested in ever doing business with him, and he classified Paul’s boxing career thus far as a “freak show.” Paul took to social media to issue a response to White, and the post was every bit as thought-provoking as it was venomous.
“Dana you claimed you would bet $1M on me losing. Set up Askren to train with Freddie Roach…gave him full access to UFCPI…and he still got his ass handed to him. Seems like you are the real douche…not Ariel.
“In my 3rd fight I made more in total pay than any fighter in UFC history. Maybe it’s time to pay your fighters their fair share? No wonder they all want to get into boxing. Dana you say you make the fights the fans want to see…so hurry up and make Jones vs. N’gannou. Pay them their fair share….$10M purse for each guy plus PPV. Why are UFC fighters to underpaid vs. boxers? Why did I make more in my 3rd fight than all but two (Khabib & Conor) UFC fighters have in history? I know why…”
Dana White has already addressed part of Paul’s claim regarding his success, as White does not believe the Paul/Askren PPV numbers were anything close to what they were reported as being. And regarding Paul’s Jon Jones idea, Jones himself is on the record saying $10 million would be too low for him to fight Ngannou, so there’s that.
Still, despite Jake Paul being loathed by so many inside the MMA community (fighters and fans alike), there’s no question that he is speaking the same language as many fighters, media members, and fans who have made similar arguments about the UFC’s pay structure. Which begs the question…
Who is considered the villain of this feud now? Jake Paul or Dana White? ?
What are your thoughts on Jake Paul’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.