Jake Paul Has Finally Picked a Real Fight in Dana White: Unchecked

Jake Paul is winning the public opinion battle in his feud with Dana White over the pay of UFC fighters.

Jake Paul has finally picked an interesting opponent … Dana White. And right now they are fighting in Paul’s chosen arena, social media.

“Best year we ever had,” White. “Sponsorship is through the roof. Social media, our numbers on PPV, our numbers on television, arena records. This business is on fire.”

Also Dana White: We are again raising PPV prices and saying FU to fans and fighters https://t.co/3lQ9aEzuvr

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) January 7, 2022

If you’re like me, you made some money betting Francis Ngannou to beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. 

But do you know who didn’t make enough money? Francis Ngannou. 

The heavyweight champ pulled in a $600,000 purse. In fact, the total combined payout for every fighter on the card was $1.8 million, which of course is a lot for almost everyone but not when it comes to the precedent for big draws in the fight game. 

For comparison, Tyson Fury made $30 million alone to fight Deontay Wilder, who made $20 million. It's something I probably wouldn’t have known if Paul hadn’t continuously pointed out the relative lack of pay by the UFC. 

The TOTAL combined payout for every fighter #UFC270 was $1.8 million.

Fury made $30 million in his third fight against Wilder.

Wilder made $20 million.

Fury and Wilder made 25x more than all the UFC 270 fighters COMBINED.

Tell me that UFC fighter pay isn’t an issue. pic.twitter.com/xYXxXLGvX8

— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) January 23, 2022

Now Paul is taking his quest (or publicity stunt) to a new level by investing in the UFC’s parent company and says he wants to fix the problem from within. 

Oh my https://t.co/0gsaqIGEbS

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 25, 2022

I am nearly certain Dana would argue his business model isn’t broken, and his league’s popularity and his bank account would probably back that up. But there may be a lot of fans who buy pay-per-view events watching the pay for those they view more closely, thanks to a boxer who got famous on YouTube.

Francis Ngannou reveals UFC threatened his manager with lawsuit over alleged contact with Jake Paul’s business partner (@DamonMartin) https://t.co/KsAnHn31e6 pic.twitter.com/DuhiN019F2

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) January 25, 2022

I’m not sure Dana White cares about public opinion, but this may be the one fight that many will find it hard to root against Jake Paul.