Jake Paul and his brother Logan might be building a real following in the combat sports community, but don’t expect UFC President Dana White to buy into their gimmick.
The siblings from Ohio, who became celebrities and social influencers thanks to a huge fanbase built on YouTube, have transitioned into the sport of boxing. Logan Paul fought online personality KSI as an amateur and professional, while Jake Paul competed twice as a pro, most recently knocking out ex-NBA player Nate Robinson in the co-headliner of Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.
Following the Robinson knockout, Paul called out former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor while also taking shots at retired fighter Ben Askren and Bellator prospect Dillon Danis. Since then, he’s continued to engage in a war of words – and one apparently staged attack – with several high-profile fighters in an attempt to secure his next fight.
White might be the least interested person in the world when it comes to the Paul brothers’ exploits.
“The answer to that question is who gives a sh*t? Neither one of these guys can fight,” White told the Shout! Podcast when asked about the YouTubers. “It’s all a big gimmick. Like I said at a press conference, there’s a market for that. If people are dumb enough to spend their money watching that sh*t, I don’t know what to tell you. Good luck to them.
“I could care less what that guy [says]. I get it. He’s trying to make some money and doing his thing and there’s people out there who want to spend their money on that. I’m not that guy.”
Despite White’s obvious disdain for the Paul brothers, they have definitely stirred up interest in potential fights – if for no other reason than a multitude of fans hoping to see them demolished by legitimate competition.
White previously joked that he would send two-division UFC women’s champion Amanda Nunes to take care of Jake Paul if he was desperate to face a real fighter. Paul scoffed at that idea, discounting Nunes as an unknown by comparison.
White is happy to remind Paul what would happen if he actually accepted that particular challenge.
“Amanda Nunes will knock that kid out,” White said. “To even think about that guy fighting, he’s like ‘I’m never going to fight a woman.’ You shouldn’t, because she’ll put you in a coma. The guy is just some kid off the street.”
For all the chatter surrounding the Paul brothers lately, White warns them to watch their words, because right now they’re getting away with saying a whole lot online. But eventually, when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, they might start running into some of the same people they’ve been trashing lately.
“One of the big problems with him right now, he’s lucky there’s a pandemic,” White said about Jake Paul. “He’s talking smack about real people. Real people that he could run into at a restaurant some night and things like that. This isn’t a real guy. This is just some kid on YouTube.”