Jake Paul may not be climbing back into the boxing ring anytime soon, but the social media star still plans on doing plenty of fighting in the first half of 2022.
His next opponent? None other than UFC President Dana White.
Paul has been one of White’s most outspoken critics over the last year after smashing two of his former welterweights inside the squared circle. “The Problem Child” wants UFC to raise its minimum purse for all fighters while implementing comprehensive health care benefits.
“It’s really about the fighters,” Paul told ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday (transcribed by Tim Daniels). “You know, I’ve been in the gym and I’ve seen how hard these guys work and how mistreated they are and how underpaid all of them are. So, it’s really about fighter pay and getting them health care, and poking the bear and disrupting his whole entire business. I’m dropping a diss track on Dana White tomorrow morning, so you will see that. And I’m not stopping any time soon.”
Paul isn’t the first athlete to challenge the UFC machine. Unfortunately, most of the disruptors who came before him were already under contract to White and Co. and it was only a matter of time before they were forced to yield to the higher powers.
These before and after posts speak for themselves.
“I want to create a fighters’ union,” Paul continued. “This is my goal, to really impact the whole entire sport, both MMA and boxing, and leave an everlasting stamp. And I just so happen to not be beholden to anybody. A lot of these UFC fighters are beholden to Dana White, they can’t speak out against him. So, I’m using my platform because I’m one of the very few people who actually can. I’ll say whatever, I’ll speak the truth. So, I’m just doing my responsibility as a fighter and as someone who cares about other fighters.”
White has yet to comment on Paul’s latest offensive.