UFC president Dana White thinks it won’t be long until Jake Paul’s fame as a boxer starts to fade.
Paul, the YouTube sensation-turned-pro boxer, has grabbed just about everyone’s attention, including White, who’s not entirely sold on his boxing ability. Paul has taken numerous jabs at White over fighter pay, claiming that he’d never work with the UFC boss, who says he isn’t really interested in doing business with Paul, either.
“I just don’t see it happening,” White said on the “FULL SEND PODCAST.” “I don’t hate the kid. Is he f*cking annoying? Yeah, he’s annoying. He’s out there trying to make that money, and his shelf life is very f*cking short.”
White continued, “Listen, I never say never, but I highly doubt it (working with Paul). It’s just not what I do. There’s a market for that. He could fight a different type of celebrity every week, and there’s going to be a segment of the population that wants to pay for that and see it, but that’s not what I do. I put the best against the best.”
After dispatching YouTuber “AnEsonGib,” former NBA player Nate Robinson, and former Bellator and ONE Championship title holder Ben Askren, Paul will take a big step up in competition when he faces former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in an eight-round, 190-pound catchweight fight Aug. 29 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
But despite acknowledging that Woodley has knockout power, White said he’s nothing like his prime self. He thinks if Paul continues to fight people who aren’t actual boxers, the public will eventually lose interest in following him.
“The media isn’t really following him as much as they did in the beginning,” White said. “The schtick is getting old. I think for him to get the media back, he’s gonna have to fight somebody. They’re tired of the schtick. ‘Hey, it’s me, I weigh 190, and I want to fight these guys that weigh 170, 155, and they’re wrestling, and they’re 40 f*cking years old, and they haven’t won a fight in three f*cking years.’
“If he wants to be taken seriously now by the real media, I think he needs to fight a real fight.”