Jake Paul continued to bring up the issue of fighter pay in MMA, specifically the UFC and revealed his hopes to bring a fighters union to the sport.
Paul spoke with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on his show First Take and addressed why he keeps going after UFC President Dana White, reiterating it’s about how the promotion in his opinion severely underpays its fighters. The 25-year old YouTuber turned professional boxer also revealed his hopes to bring a fighters union to MMA, and how he will continue to use his platform to speak against White.
“It’s really about the fighters,” Paul said (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’ve been in the gym, and I’ve seen how hard these guys work and how mistreated they are and how underpaid all of them are. So it’s really about fighter pay and getting them healthcare, poking the bear, and disrupting his whole entire business. I want to create a fighters’ union. This is my goal to really impact the whole entire sport, both MMA and boxing, and leave an everlasting stamp. I just so happen to not be beholden to anybody. A lot of these UFC fighters they are beholden to Dana White. They can’t speak out against him, so I’m using my platform because I’m one of the very few people who actually can. I’ll say whatever. I’ll speak the truth. I’m doing what my responsibility is as a fighter and as someone who cares about other fighters.”
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