Jake Paul has done a phenomenal job of establishing himself as a villain inside of the world of MMA. However he may actually have earned himself a few fans after he issued a recent message to Dana White.
YouTuber turned boxer Paul has not tried making any friends inside the MMA world. Between his constant callouts of UFC fighters, and even his videos completely mocking the entire community, he has built up quite the negative reputation.
This was only amplified after he signed to fight Olympic wrestler and former UFC fighter Ben Askren. After a hyped buildup, the two finally faced off in the ring, with Jake knocking Ben down early in the first, causing the fight to be stopped.
Dana White Fires The First Shot
After this boxing match between Jake Paul and Ben Askren, Dana White made it clear that he was not very impressed. He made it known that he felt that way in the immediate aftermath of the fight, but doubled down on that in the UFC 261 post-fight press conference.
Here Dana called into question the validity of the numbers that Triller claimed the boxing PPV did. He also fired a few shots at Jake for fighting people that he does not deem to be legitimate threats.
“He knocked out an NBA guy that was 40 years old and 30 pounds less than him. I don’t even know what to think about the Askren thing. The whole thing is f—king mind-boggling to me, but good for him. Grab that money while you can, kid,” White said.
“I don’t believe anything [Triller] say. That’s a f—king circus. None of that is real. Do you think any of that s—t that’s going on over there is real? C’mon, man. I built a real business here, a real sport.”
Jake Paul Takes Aim At Dana White Over Pay
When asked why he took the fight with Jake Paul, Ben Askren made it clear that this was all about a big payday, saying that he made more from this bout than the three he had in the UFC. Apparently Jake seems to think this is indicative of a larger issue in the UFC.
Posting to his Twitter, the influencer took aim at Dana White for underpaying his fighters to the point where they want to try boxing. He also implored the UFC bossman to make the fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou, which has seemingly fallen through due to pay disputes.
“Dana you claimed you would bet $1M on me losing. Set up Askren to train with Freddie Roach…gave him full access to the UFCPI…and he still got his ass handed to him,” Paul wrote.
“Seems like you are the real douche…not Ariel. In my 3rd fight I made more money 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 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,” Paul added.
“Why are UFC fighters so 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…”
. @danawhite pic.twitter.com/SI48eGkoaO
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) April 25, 2021
To be clear, overall Jake Paul is still a figure that is not looked upon fondly in the MMA community. However this message to Dana White may have won him at least a few fans in the fight community, with him seeming to advocate for the fighters.
