Jake Paul is an infamous advocate and a critic when it comes to the UFC fighter’s pay. Since he transitioned into YouTube boxing, Paul has called out the UFC president Dana White on multiple occasions.
The famous internet personality has been a frontrunner when it comes to bringing out the fighter’s payout in combat sports. Jake even fought former UFC fighters Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren in a boxing ring while allowing them to make a lot of money.
Meanwhile, renowned journalist Stephen A. Smith, thinks otherwise, as he has stated that he’s rooting for Dana. In a recent episode of “BS w/ Jake Paul” YouTube show, Jake and Stephen debated over the fighter’s pay, while Stephen said:
“That’s my man. I’m not gonna front, Dana White’s my guy.”
Smith has long known White and currently works with the UFC broadcast partner ESPN. When Jake brought to his attention that the UFC pays fighters around 20 percent of its revenue, Stephen mentioned Conor McGregor:
“Conor McGregor, he didn’t complain about his payday.”
McGregor is probably the richest fighter and the biggest name in the history of the sport. To this, Paul replied:
“Yeah, no, because he was one of the only fighters that Dana paid a decent amount of revenue.”
McGregor might be richer than Dana at this point, while he recently made his way into the No.1 Forbes athlete list, surpassing other athletes from other sports.
It has been a topic of debate for quite some time now and many fighters came forward accusing the company’s policy and the payout. Many fighters like Jared Cannonier stated how difficult it is to survive in a sport, where injuries and other mishaps are very common but the payout is comparatively very low.
UFC Fighter pay vs. NFL and NBA, Jake Paul debates with Stephen A Smith
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has once again put Dana White in his crosshair while describing the contracts of UFC fighters in comparison to NBA and NFL payout.
While Stephen seemed to defend Dana regarding the fighter’s pay, Jake brought out the fact that other sports organizations pay their athletes a fine amount. Jake said:
“…that’s where the problem with me and Dana White is him now making billions of dollars off of the organization and only paying his fighters 15 percent of the stakes, whereas in NBA and NFL they get paid 50 percent of the total revenue of the team.”
‘The Problem Child’ stated that the fighters in the UFC get locked under the expanding contracts, preventing them from leaving the promotion.
“They get locked into these contracts where they get locked into contracts when if they win a certain number of fights,” Paul said.
Smith reacted to Paul’s rant about fighter contracts and replied with an example when Scottie Pippen signed a highly undervalued contract with the Chicago Bulls. Stephen said:
Let me give you a perfect example of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls when they 3 peated as champions. Not once but twice in every single one of those championships Scottie Pippen was on it. Scottie Pippen was grossly underpaid. We highlighted it.” he added.
Smith stated that the owner of the Bulls gave Pippen the option not to sign the contract. However, Pippen signed the undervalued contract, anyway. It was a decision that he’d regret later in his career.
According to Smith, Pippen’s situation was similar to that of current UFC fighters. However, many fighters in the UFC have indeed come forward. Also, the fight fans have been ranting about that on social media, but the promotion and the president are adamant about their decision, which they think is the best.
