- Jake Paul vows to never talk about the UFC if Dana White increases the minimum fighter pay
- “The Problem Child” shared his honest thoughts about fighting Mike Tyson
Jake Paul has laid out his final condition to UFC president Dana White in fixing fighter pay and talked about what a fight with Mike Tyson means to him.
$50K minimum pay for UFC fighters
Speaking on his BS w/ Jake Paul podcast, “The Problem Child” addressed his concern with UFC fighter pay once and for all. According to Paul, he would rest his case if White can raise the minimum fighter from $12,500 to $50k per fight.
“The only thing I’ve really asked for is for the minimum fighter pay, which is $12,500, to be changed to $50,000. So that fighters who have to work multiple jobs, if they fight once a year even, they would still be able to live off of that. If they were twice a year, they would make $100,000, which is great. Now, if they’re fighting once a year, it’s like $12,500 or twice a year would be $25,000,” Paul explained.
“That’s been my only ask to Dana to change and that would only cost the UFC $20 million annually. So, it seems like, ‘Oh, you made $3-$4 billion why not just give a little bit more to the fighters? It’s only $20 million.’ That’s been my biggest thing. Make that change and I’ll shut the f**k up,” he pointed out.
“I can talk about all the intricate details about this sh*t all day long but definitely when I started talking about this, that’s when Dana White was like, ‘Oh, Jake Paul does steroids, Jake Paul’s fights are rigged, Jake Paul this, Jake Paul that. So, he’s the one that started all the personal rumors. Jake Paul doesn’t sell, Jake Paul won’t fight Anderson Silva. He’s been the biggest voice of oppression to me because I’m the only one literally in the whole entire fight business who can talk back to who him. There’s probably four people who can. I’m the only one who has the balls to do it,” he added.
As expected, Paul’s bold challenge to White was met with an equally on point response. In a post on X, former UFC heavyweight contender Josh Barnett came to the UFC’s defense regarding the issue.
Just goes to show that you can be given a mic but that doesn't mean you know what you're talking about.
There is ZERO problems with "minimum pay" in the UFC.
-Contract structure and clauses? You've got an argument there.
-Pay and Incentives for main event and those whose IP is… https://t.co/pY5SwMuYDy— 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 (@JoshLBarnett) September 20, 2024
Jake thinks a fight with Tyson is both a lose-lose and win-win-win
Ahead of his boxing match with Tyson, Paul has been heavily criticized by many for taking on a 58-year-old inactive boxing legend. While the YouTuber-turned-boxing star acknowledged that there would some backlash, he also thinks being part of history is still an undeniable success.
“100% [it’s worth it]. Being a part of history, it probably will be the most viewed fight ever since of Netflix and it’s free, they have the largest subscriber base out of any platform ever,” Paul said of fighting Tyson.
“I see it from the public’s perception. Yeah, it comes across as a lose-lose for sure and I see that angle for sure and I’m going to have to deal with that but the way I rationalize it, it’s a win-win-win for me personally,” he explained. “Fighting Mike Tyson is such an honor and being in there with one of the three biggest names in boxing history: Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson. That’s such a win and man, fighting in front of 90,000 people is a dream come true.”
Paul also revealed that his team has discussed a potential rematch with Tommy Fury. However, Fury’s team was skeptical about how big it would be but Tyson was all-in on it.
“We got the deal done, Most Valuable Promotions for the deal done with Netflix and Netflix was like ‘Okay, go out and talk to three different opponents’ – we talked to Tommy Fury… They didn’t understand that this was going to be one of the most viewed fights ever, so they were saying no whilst Mike Tyson was saying yes.”
Paul vs. Tyson will take place on November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Paul will be looking to secure another massive win in his soaring boxing career, while “Iron Mike” is determined to prove why he is one of the most dangerous fighters in the history of the sport.
Watch Paul’s full podcast episode below:
