Following a career-best victory over 48-year-old MMA fighter, Anderson Silva, Jake Paul has once again put Dana White on blast for how he treats athletes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Paul is continuing to act as a sort of bridge between boxing and mixed-martial-arts. He fights mostly retired UFC fighters, and is constantly calling out the company’s president, Dana White, even recording a diss track at one point. The YouTuber turned fighter’s argument is that he’s providing these combat athletes with their biggest payday in one night compared to entire careers in White’s organisation, and he thinks that should change.
The controversial fighter dedicated a portion of his post-fight press conference to White, as captured by Sky Sports.
“Dana, bro, you said I wouldn’t do this, and I did it, with flying colours. He’s [Dana White] in hiding. He’s trying to do everything he can to stop my run, to sabotage my fights. He hates me. He hates what I’m doing. He hates how I’m exposing his business.
Now, we’re going to band together and create a united fighters association to help UFC fighters – all MMA fighters and boxers – to get more fighter pay, long term healthcare. That’s a big, big undertaking that I’ve been wanting to do for the whole entire time of my career.”
Paul likes to make bets before his bouts, and this time around it was more serious than a tattoo that says ‘I love Jake Paul’ – which his previous opponent did actually get. Paul bet Silva that if he won, Silva would have to join him in starting a ‘fighter’s union’ for fair pay and longterm healthcare.
It comes off the back of Paul insisting that the money the UFC pays its fighters is not enough. It’s a noble enough goal, but very little substance has been provided alongside it – and it’s unlikely White will be moved to respond until Paul provides that.