Dana White isn’t sold on [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] – and he doesn’t think the viewers are, either.
Paul, who’s captured the attention of the combat sports world, is 4-0 since leaving his social influencer career behind for boxing and is coming off his most notable win to date, a split decision over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in August.
The bout reportedly sold close to 500,000 pay-per-views, but White isn’t convinced the YouTube star is actually a draw. He thinks Paul should quit competing against fighters who are past their primes and look to face [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] – who despite being 46 has looked sharp in the boxing ring.
“Fans would actually like to see that fight,” White told “The Daily Telegraph.” “It’s actually a viable fight that would actually sell some pay-per-views – because no matter what they tell you, he ain’t f*cking selling pay-per-views. The brother did. Logan, when he fought Floyd Mayweather, they sold some pay-per-views. Triller ain’t selling jack sh*t. Those guys couldn’t f*cking give away pay-per-views. If Jake Paul actually goes out and fights Anderson Silva, it’s a viable fight.”
When Paul previously claimed his fight with Ben Askren sold 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, White called shenanigans. While he understands the interest Paul is garnering when he fights, White trashed the actual product, including Paul’s win over Woodley.
“Showtime needs f*cking Jake Paul,” White said. “Their f*cking fights are pulling 70,000 viewers for Christ’s sake. I could take a picture of my big toe and put it on Instagram and more people would see that than a Showtime fight. They need Jake Paul, so whatever they’re f*cking paying him, it’s probably not enough. They probably need to pay him more. No. 2, he’s doing all the right things he needs to do to try and make some money before he gets clipped. A couple of years ago, (Justin) Bieber called out Tom Cruise and said, ‘I want to fight you.’ Let me tell you what: If Justin Bieber fought Tom Cruise, it would be the biggest pay-per-view ever in the history of fighting.
“It would beat Mayweather vs. McGregor, it would beat Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, it would beat everything. But here’s the question: Is it a good fight? I mean, Jake Paul vs. Woodley was a horrible f*cking fight. It’s not a good fight. It’s a horrible fight. The sh*t that just happened on Triller, it’s f*cking terrible. But people get sucked in by the interest of it being a ‘celebrity’ fight or whatever the hell you want to call it. But at the end of the day, it’s a sh*t show. People tune into the UFC and when they come here and they put down their money, they expect to see great fights. They expect to see quality. You’re not buying those fights for quality.”
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