Jake Paul: UFC Fighters Are Owned By Dana White

YouTube star Jake Paul believes UFC fighters have no leverage.

Paul has been making waves in the world of combat sports for better or worse. He has been garnering attention from high-level mixed martial artists despite the fact that he’s only competed in boxing matches. Paul is coming off a first-round TKO victory over former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder Ben Askren.

Lately, Paul has been taking aim at UFC President Dana White and has called him out on fighter pay. The YouTuber appeared on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome podcast and expressed his belief that fighters in the UFC are treated poorly (via MMAFighting.com).

“I’m a free agent. Look, I think that’s the way it should be with all fighters. It just sucks to see these young kids, these young boxers, these young UFC champions get tied up into these contracts where they’re owned by the promoter. They’re owned by Dana White and they’re not getting fair pay, they’re not getting the fights they want. It’s a big problem. How is Arianny Celeste—she’s a ring girl, right?—how is she making more money than some of the fighters in the octagon who are risking their lives? It doesn’t make sense to me and it’s just a big problem.

“I’m hoping to help change that and just help fighters realize they are the content. They are the ones that the fans are showing up for. They are the ones that are driving these pay-per-views. They’re the ones risking their lives and they should be rewarded for that.”