Jake Paul has heavily spoken out about lack of fighter pay in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) so it wasn’t a big surprise to recently see “Problem Child” get in a heated exchange with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith over that very same topic.
Paul, who has been testing his hands at the sport of boxing over the past few years and making a ton of money in the process, seems to challenge UFC over fighter pay almost every chance he gets. As someone who has the freedom to negotiate his own asking price for his in-ring appearances the YouTube sensation has implored UFC fighters and combat athletes alike to speak up and get what they are worth.
While some would say that Paul is doing all of this to get under the skin of UFC president Dana White the rising boxing star does seem to care about UFC fighters and how much they are making. Paul has tried to push his narrative in a variety of ways. He even purchased shares of UFC stock earlier this year to try to change the system from the inside out.
Earlier this week, Paul was on the offensive again as he came together with Smith on his “BS w/ Jake Paul” YouTube show (shown above). Once the topic turned onto UFC fighter pay things got a little heated. Paul began to spit out facts about UFC’s egregious revenue share and how White handles it all, while Smith — who works for UFC’s broadcast partner in ESPN — did his best to avoid saying anything professionally incriminating.
“That’s my man. I’m not gonna front,” said Smith when White’s name was brought up. “Dana White’s my guy.”
Even if you don’t like Paul or how he conducts himself outside of the ring this is a solid watch. Paul continues to question UFC fighter pay in the public spotlight and that’s only going to help the athletes themselves in the long run. At the end of the day, that’s really what it’s all about.