Jake Paul thinks Dana White and the UFC knew exactly what they were doing when Conor McGregor news hit during Francis Ngannou’s walkout at MVP MMA 1.
Paul reacted after McGregor’s reported UFC 329 rematch with Max Holloway started making noise while Ngannou was walking out for his MVP MMA 1 fight against Philipe Lins on Saturday night at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Paul, who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions with Nakisa Bidarian, called the timing intentional and ripped White for trying to steal attention from MVP’s first MMA card on Netflix.
The clip came from Happy Punch:
https://x.com/HappyPunch/status/2055876852925772067
“I love the cokehead is back,” Paul said. “Nice. Yeah, that’s cool, bro. Cool. Yeah, drop it. Drop it during our event. Doesn’t matter. That just shows how pressed they are, little insecure boys trying to piggyback off of our event and try to put some news over top of us. Not gonna work, buddy.”
The McGregor news involved a planned return against Holloway at UFC 329. McGregor is 22-6 in MMA, and his last fight came in July 2021 against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, where he lost by doctor stoppage after suffering a leg injury. Holloway is 26-8 and already shares a history with McGregor, who beat him by decision in 2013.
The timing gave Paul a clean target. Ngannou was walking out for his first MVP MMA appearance after leaving the UFC, while the UFC’s biggest inactive star became the competing headline. The matchup itself was already tracked here after Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 was set for UFC 329.
Paul Dodges Jon Jones Contract Question After Ngannou Win
Ngannou, now 19-3 in MMA, knocked out Lins in the first round. Since leaving the UFC, he has boxed Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, then returned to MMA outside the UFC system on MVP’s first MMA card.
Netflix Sports posted Ngannou’s finish here:
https://x.com/netflixsports/status/2055838417703878990
Paul was also asked about Jon Jones, who said on the MVP broadcast that he would need help looking at his UFC contract if a Ngannou fight were ever going to happen outside the UFC. Jones is 28-1 with 1 no contest, and his last fight came against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, where he won by third-round TKO to retain the UFC heavyweight title.
“So we don’t want to get sued,” Paul said. “They’re already sending out lawsuits this week. We don’t want to get sued. No comment. Next question. Thank you, Brett. I’m going to use Claude Legal and review Jon Jones’ contract.”
Jones already said a Francis Ngannou fight would likely require a UFC contract exit and MVP deal. Paul avoided giving a direct answer on camera after mentioning legal risk.
Paul has been attacking White over fighter pay, UFC control, and MVP’s push into MMA. He previously blasted White over UFC business practices, and this time he tied the criticism directly to the timing of McGregor-Holloway news during Ngannou’s MVP MMA 1 walkout.
