The contentious dialogue between YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul and UFC president Dana White keeps on developing.
Paul has been a heavy critic of UFC’s fighter pay and has openly attacked White for the way athletes are treated, claiming that they are “underpaid”.
“Looking forward to my first Endeavor earnings call today! Going to reach out to their board members afterwards Every Wall Street analyst preview report I’ve read is questioning if the low UFC fighter pay percentages are sustainable. That tells you how unfair UFC fighter pay is” stated Paul.
CEO of Endeavor, UFC’s parent company, Ari Emanuel did his best to dodge fighter pay questions during the quarterly earnings call.
“I’m not commenting on that,” Emanuel said (via MMA Fighting). “I think we’ve done very well as it relates to the pay for the fighters.”
Endeavor’s chief financial officer Jason Lublin recently openly defended UFC’s fighter pay claiming it’s vastly improved throughout the years.
“We’ve increased fighter pay 600 percent since 2005,” Lublin said. “We’re investing in the business with performance institutes, food, recovery. We think we’ve done very, very well.
“As the revenue for the business increases, it has only benefited that business, and we’ve grown and the sport has grown and fighter pay has grown too. As I said, how much it’s gone up since 2005.”
It didn’t take long for Paul to respond to Endeavor’s top brass, warning them that a change is coming.
“Live from the UFC call: Ari Emanuel asked about fighter comp and benefits driven by the attention JAKE PAUL is bringing to it by LightShed. Ari refused to comment on the concern around percentage paid to UFC fighters versus other athletes in other leagues. Change is coming y’all.”
Looking forward to my first Endeavor earnings call today!
Going to reach out to their board members afterwards
Every Wall Street analyst preview report I’ve read is questioning if the low UFC fighter pay percentages are sustainable
That tells you how unfair UFC fighter pay is
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) March 16, 2022
It seems that with this exchange of words, a new chapter of the feud between Jake Paul and the UFC is opened.