Jake Paul's beef with Dana White just got really accurate and very entertaining
This is the Morning Win, by Andy Nesbitt.
I need to say this right away ā Iām not a Jake Paul guy. I didnāt buy his fight with Ben Askren. I donāt care about what heās done on YouTube. Heās just not for me.
But on Sunday he went on Twitter and ripped into UFC boss Dana White and I found myself in a weird spot ā agreeing with what Paul had to say.
Crazy, right?
If you missed it, Paul posted a statement directed at White in which he ripped him for not making the fight that fans want to see ā Jon Jones vs. heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ā and for refusing to pay Jones, one of the greatest of all time, the money he would deserves for a fight like that.
Paul also went in on other fighter pay issues and an alleged bet that White made with Snoop Dogg on the Paul-Ben Askren fight. White has denied making that bet.
āDana," he wrote, "you claimed you would bet $1 million on me losing. Set up Askren to train with Freddie Roach ā¦ gave him full access to UFCPIā¦ and he still got his ass handed to him. Seems like you are the real dā-, not Ariel. In my third fight, I made more in total pay than any fighter in UFC history. Maybe itās time to pay your fighters their fair share?"
āNo wonder they all want to get into boxing," Paul continued. "Dana, you say you make the fights fans want to seeā¦ so hurry up and make [Jon] Jones vs. [Francis] Ngannou. Pay them their fair shareā¦ $10 million purse for each guy, plus PPV. Why are UFC fighters so underpaid vs. boxers? Why did I make more money in my third fight than all but two [Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor] UFC fighters have in history? I know why ā¦ā
I never thought Iād end up at the place where Iām agreeing with Paul but here I am on this fine Monday morning and I have to think a lot of UFC fighters are feeling the same way as I do. Well, probably not UFC legend Daniel Cormier, who had a heated moment with Paul at UFC 261 Saturday night in Jacksonville.
UFC fighters have been grossly underpaid for years, with their annual revenue share being around a reported 20 percent. Thatās so far below what players in other major sports (NFL, MLB, NHL) get, as their numbers hover around 50 percent.
Part of that problem, of course, is that the fighters donāt have a union like the other sports do. Another part of that problem is that fighters canāt really speak out against White because they want to get fights and donāt want to do anything that would put them in a bad light with the boss. That stinks but thatās the way business is done in the UFC.
And thatās what makes this Paul stuff really good. He has nothing to lose and can throw these accurate shots at White with no concerns about anything affecting him or his bottom line.
Whatās also funny is that White now has to answer questions about Paul at big events. UFC 261 was an incredible night of fights but moments after White was asked about Paul and said he wasnāt interested in doing business with him and that he didnāt trust the PPV numbers from his fight with Askren. Itās just wild that on a night in which we saw some incredible knockouts in title fights White had to take time to talk about a YouTuber.
Also, if you know White then you know by him saying heās not interested in doing business with Paul doesnāt mean he wonāt be interested in doing business with him down the line. The UFC boss hasnāt been afraid to flip flop on things before.
Do I want to see the UFC and Paul do business together? No, I have zero interest. But still, I wouldnāt be surprised by anything popping up between the two.
Paulās statement on Sunday, though, was an important one for UFC fighters and was a message they should embrace and endorse. And yes, thatās a wild sentence to type.
Again, Iām not a Paul guy at all but as a UFC fan I do hope he keeps bringing up these issues on his giant platform.
Quick hits: MLBās hilarious tweet about Bumgarnerā¦ Roganās great UFC 261 reactionsā¦ Loganoās scary wreck at Talladegaā¦ And more.
ā MLB had a great tweet after Madison Bumgarner pitched and unofficial no-hitter in a 7-inning game.
ā UFC fans loved the reactions Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier, and Jon Anik had to the two wild knockouts at UFC 261.
ā Joey Logano was happy to be alive and OK after this wild wreck that sent him airborne at Talladega.
ā These photos of Kamaru Usmanās knockout of Jorge Masvidal are stunning.
ā Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner found a brilliant way to force the Brewers into a double play on a pop-up.
ā Dodgers pitcher Dustin May threw another baffling, 99 mph pitch Sunday night.