Dana White claims Jake Paul is lying about PPV numbers for Ben Askren fight
Triller Fight Club/YouTube: UFCUFC president Dana White claimed that Jake Paul’s pay-per-view numbers from the Ben Askren fight are “full of s**t” and not even close to what actually happened.
Jake Paul’s dive into the boxing world might have started with YouTubers like Deji and AnEsonGib, but he’s gone wildly beyond that since. He’s beaten Nate Robinson and Ben Askren with some pretty vicious knockouts.
The YouTube star has even sights on bigger things too, calling out UFC icon Conor McGregor, but that’s landed him in hot water with Dana White.
The longtime UFC president has continually played down the Paul’s venture into the fight game, even threatening Jake with legal action if he continued calling out UFC fighters. Now though, he’s also doubting their pay-per-view numbers.
Triller Fight ClubFollowing the win over Ben Askren, which took over the internet on April 18, Jake claimed that the PPV did 1.3 million buys, resulting in around “$65 million” being generated from the fight. That would make it one of the most successful pay-per-view events in a long time.
However, speaking after UFC 261, Dana White wasn’t buying what Jake has been selling. “The numbers that you’re hearing that they did are full of s**t. They’re full of s**t,” White said following UFC 261 when asked if he’d have any interest in working with Jake. “They didn’t pull those kinds of numbers at all. Not even f**king close.”
While the UFC prez tipped his cap to the YouTuber for making some money, he reiterated his stance on not believing him a few questions later in his press conference. “I don’t believe anything they say. That’s a f**king circus. None of that’s real. You think any of that s**t that’s going on over there is real?” he added, also calling it a “freakshow.”
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It seems as if any hopes fans might have of seeing the two working together are pretty much dashed, given White also said neither of the Paul brothers would be stepping into the octagon. Though, Jake did get booed for attending UFC 261.
Logan has expressed interest in MMA before, seeing as he used to be a wrestler, but Jake hasn’t done so, and looks set to stick with boxing.
His eventual response to the UFC president will be interesting, especially if he’s got receipts to disprove his claims.