Dana White “admires” Jake Paul despite heated feud over UFC pay

Dana White apparently has a soft spot for Jake Paul and “admires” the YouTuber-turned-boxer, though, he is unlikely to admit it according to UFC coach Javier Mendez. 

Ever since he first stepped into the fight game, Jake Paul has gone after some of the biggest names in both the boxing world as well as those in the UFC. While he’s traded verbal jabs with many fighters, his most heated feud has been with UFC boss Dana White.

Jake and Dana have gone back and forth on a number of things, including the raging debate on UFC fighter pay and healthcare, as well as just how many pay-per-views that Jake’s fights have sold.

While Dana has somewhat distanced himself from the feud recently, he apparently “admires” the work that Jake has been putting in, but he’s unlikely to ever admit it in public.

That’s according to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s trainer Javier Mendez, who also believes Jake could beat Conor McGregor if the pair ever got inside the boxing ring.

• Read More: Joe Rogan shuts down Donald Trump JRE podcast rumors once and for all

Mendez, who was speaking to Betway, stated that Dana is a “mastermind” of creating hype and interest, and that’s exactly what’s been going on between himself and Jake.

“If it makes business sense for Dana then he’ll do it. Dana is a mastermind of creating news in the media, he’s a master at it,” Mendez said. “Even the thing with Jake Paul, you know he has his war with Jake Paul, but behind closed doors, he actually admires the kid and respects how he goes about getting attention.”

As noted, White has distanced himself from the feud with Jake in recent weeks, but admitted that he’d “never say never” when it comes to possibly linking up with the social media star.

Dana will probably never admit to liking Jake as way to keep things going, but it at least appears as if he’s softened his anti-Paul stance and people have noticed.