Written by Jake Paul | Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Jake Paul is willing to let Dana White off the hook – with one condition.
Ever since Paul made the transition from YouTube influencer to professional boxer, he has argued for better fighter pay in both boxing and MMA, the latter of which has drawn the attention and ire of UFC CEO White. Paul and White have engaged in a public war of words over the topic, with the feud becoming increasingly personal.
On his BS podcast, Paul laid out the conditions under which he would back off from the conversation, with his withdrawal contingent on White increasing pay for the lesser known fighters on the UFC roster.
“The only thing I’ve really asked for is for the minimum fighter pay which is $12,500 to be changed to $50,000,” Paul said. “So that if fighters who have to work multiple jobs, if they fight once a year even, they would still be able to live off of that and if it was twice a year, they’d make a hundred grand, which is great.
“But now, if they’re fighting once a year, it’s $12,500, or twice a year would be $25,000. So that’s been my only ask to Dana to change, and that would only cost the UFC $20 million annually. So it seems like you made three, four billion dollars, 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*ck up.”
White’s name came up when guest Steve-O claimed that he and White actually watched Paul’s August 2023 bout against former UFC star Nate Diaz together. That story would contradict White’s claim that he “stopped paying attention” to Paul’s fighting career after “The Problem Child” lost to Tommy Fury seven months prior to the Diaz fight.
In Paul’s eyes, the only reason there’s beef between them at all is because White doesn’t want to hear what he has to say when it comes to boosting fighter compensation.
“I could talk about all the intricate details about this shit all day long, but it’s definitely when I started talking about this, that’s when Dana White was like, ‘Jake Paul does steroids. Jake Paul’s fights are rigged. Jake Paul this, Jake Paul that,’” Paul said. “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 him. There’s probably four people who can, but I’m the only one who has the balls to do it.”
Longtime MMA veteran Josh Barnett discussed his issues with Paul’s plan on X.
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
— (@JoshLBarnett) September 20, 2024
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 used to promote the fight? 100%
-Pay for the lower and mid tier fighters? Nope. As themselves, they usually cost the UFC more than they bring in.