UFC President Dana White responds to Tyron Woodley’s recent fighter pay comments.
In the wake of 2021’s boxing spectacles, fighter pay has once again become a hot topic of discussion. UFC elite competitors like Francis Ngannou and Paulo Costa have already expressed their displeasure about the money they’re getting.
Then you have former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who’s seemingly found greener pastures outside of the UFC. “The Chosen One” is currently scheduled to fight YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul in what he described as the easiest fight and biggest purse of his career.
His former boss Dana White, however, isn’t buying it.
“I’ve been hearing that bullshit forever. I’ve been hearing that… they’re all full of shit,” the UFC president told the media during the UFC 263 post-fight presser.
“How much is (Woodley) making? If it’s that much money, and he’s so f—ng proud of how much it is, how much is it? They’re all full of shit. But that’s how you hype up a fight, too.”
“Tyron Woodley’s 40 years old. He hasn’t won a fight in three years, in something that he’s actually supposed to be good at. Now he’s gonna go box. How do you sell that fight? Lots of other things other than the shit that should matter. ‘I’m making a million dollars, and this is the best payday ever.’ Jake Paul will say mean things about me and ‘pay your fighters’…
“It’s all bullshit. It’s all a bunch of bullshit.”
White also says he believes the reported one million PPV buys of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul event. It’s a stark contrast to his sentiments about the 1.5 million PPV buys that the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren Triller event reportedly made.
It’s also worth noting how White asked Woodley to reveal his payout, while also having made several moves through the years to keep UFC purses private, and deeming it “a trade secret.” A lot of financial information have come out from the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC though, including the fighters’ low wage share that people have criticized them for.