Dana White ventured into the belly of the beast to answer Jake Paul.
The UFC president appeared on Tuesday in a lengthy interview with Impaulsive with Logan Paul, Jake Paul’s older brother’s podcast, during which White was bluntly asked if the much-discussed matchup between the YouTuber and former two-division champion Conor McGregor would take place. be a fight that the UFC would be willing to entertain.
“Well, he shouldn’t even fight Conor McGregor,” White said. “These guys [the Pauls] they are fucking huge. [Logan] huge, his brother [Jake] huge. What’s your brother, 6 foot 1, 210 [pounds]? Conor McGregor weighs 145,155 pounds. … There are weight categories for a reason.
“You think [Jake] can do ’70? White continued by asking Logan Paul directly.
“I don’t think so,” Logan Paul replied.
“Yes, that’s right,” White said. “It’s hard for Conor to fight at 170 pounds. He fought Nate. [Diaz] at 70, that’s not his fucking weight class, not even close.”
Jake Paul has been a thorn in White’s side ever since his boxing career began in earnest. The popular social media mogul has shed light on several of the UFC’s controversial business practices, publicly challenged his athletes, and even filmed a music video for an anti-White diss track, which currently has over 3.7 million views on YouTube. Just last week, Jake Paul upped the ante in the ongoing feud by offering the UFC a one-fight deal to take on McGregor in an MMA matchup.
His terms were for UFC officials to agree to a previous proposal to change a fighter’s pay and medical care should he win, as well as donate his entire fight wallet to UFC athletes who make less than $50,000 a fight, and publicly promise never to fight again. mention the promotion if he loses. .
Unsurprisingly, on Tuesday, Jake Paul reacted quickly to White’s latest volley.
“Dana White is begging Diaz and Conor to fight a third time. he wrote in response to White on Twitter.. “They fought at 170 in both fights. I will fight Conor at 175, no problem. Stop making excuses, you bastard.”
When asked by Logan Paul about whether the UFC has completely abandoned the idea of a Jake Paul fight in the octagon, whether it be against McGregor or anyone else, White softened his position a bit and explained that he was not completely opposed.
The UFC president also said he doesn’t take offense at the way Jake Paul has conducted his business throughout the feud.
“I’ve never completely shut myself off from anything,” White said. “I used to talk like that about things, but I don’t say that anymore because you never know. You never know what might happen.
“Look, this is a young guy trying to make some money and I don’t blame anyone for that.
“It never bothered me,” White added of Jake Paul’s hostile approach to the UFC. “In this business, attention is key. How much attention can you get? But more importantly, who gives the ***? Who cares if you’re going to fight this guy on Saturday night? You have to make people care. You must force people to stay at home. On Saturday they have many different options for what to do with their time – you have to make them stay at home and pay for it. And everyone has a different style.
“I do not mind [Paul’s approach]. It’s me, if I really don’t like you and all, I won’t answer you. I would never answer that.”
White’s interview with Logan Paul can be seen below.