UFC boss Dana White takes aim at ‘dildos’ in Jake Paul pay row, says YouTuber’s ‘15 minutes are almost up’

Dana White struck a more conciliatory tone as the UFC boss praised YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul’s capacity for self-promotion, but claimed the clock was ticking down on the combat sports wannabe’s time in the spotlight.

Paul was a high-profile presence at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida, last week as the social media star gatecrashed the party as a capacity crowd returned for the first time since the pandemic struck.

Paul, 24, clashed with former UFC two-weight champion Daniel Cormier on the sidelines of the event and gleefully goaded the MMA fans in attendance as they chanted “f*ck Jake Paul” in unison.

The YouTube celebrity’s appearance came just one week after he knocked out woefully unprepared former UFC welterweight Ben Askren in the first round of their professional boxing bout in Atlanta, a result which forced Dana White to deny that he owed rapper Snoop Dogg $2 million for supposedly backing Askren in a wager.   

Paul's victory moved his professional ring record to 3-0 – albeit with none of those wins coming against a recognized professional boxer – and reportedly earned a staggering 1.5 million pay-per-view purchases on US video entertainment platform Triller.  

In an attack on social media, Paul subsequently used those figures to taunt UFC boss White over pay for his fighters.

"Why are UFC fighters so underpaid versus boxers? Why did I make more in my third fight than all but two (Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Conor [McGregor]) UFC fighters have in history? I know why," Paul scoffed, as White continues to face claims of short-changing stars such as light heavyweight legend Jon Jones. 

White, who had dismissed Paul’s antics as a “circus” in Florida on Saturday night, has now said he doesn’t begrudge the YouTuber’s capacity to cash in on his publicity – although he doesn’t expect the limelight to linger on him for much longer.

“At the end of the day, to be honest, I hate the dildos who pop in here and say ‘Hey, pay Jake Paul!’ I hate them worse than I hate Jake Paul,” White told the Fight Hype YouTube channel.

White has frequently scoffed at Paul's fighting credentials. © Zuffa LLC

“But, listen, whatever with this kid. The kid is making money, man. He makes people care, he makes people give a sh*t.

“I honestly don’t hate the kid. I know there’s a lot of people who are very excited for the day when he gets clipped and gets knocked out, and it is coming.

“His 15 minutes are almost up but listen, the kid’s gonna make some money and good for him.”

Paul – who has previously made clips impersonating members of the MMA community, including White – has admitted to deliberately taunting the UFC world in a bid to land a big-name match-up with the likes of Conor McGregor, although the Irishman has thus far not deigned to entertain the idea.

During Paul’s appearance at UFC 261, McGregor tweeted “UFC high level fighting > Blogger jackass boxing” in a clear sign of the disdain in which he holds the YouTuber’s fighting credentials.

As Jake Paul searches for his next opponent, elder sibling Logan has had his improbable exhibition bout with undefeated former five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather confirmed for June 6 at Hard Rock stadium in Miami.

The bout is perhaps the most ludicrous yet of the trend for celebrities turning their hand to combat in the ring – with Mayweather evidently happy to go along for a payday which he has claimed could be as much as $100 million for the pair.