On a recent episode of comedian Theo Von’s podcast, Jake Paul didn’t hold back when the conversation turned to the UFC and its rumored White House card. The YouTuber-turned-boxer took direct aim at UFC leadership, criticizing what he sees as flawed matchmaking decisions and a broader culture of profit-driven management.
When Von asked whether UFC CEO Dana White is a smart businessman, Paul offered a blunt assessment.
“Not smart enough,” he said.
Paul then pointed to the proposed lineup for the White House event as an example of questionable planning, arguing that both competitive and promotional factors were being overlooked.
“Just look at what he’s doing. You don’t not pay your athletes, bro,” he said. “You don’t get Jon Jones on the White House card. First of all, Justin Gaethje is going to lose to Ilia [Topuria] on the White House card. So you have a Spaniard beating a white American on the patriotic White House card. Like, okay, big mistake, first of all. Second of all, why are you not going to pay Jon Jones?”
Rather than placing all the responsibility on White alone, Paul suggested the real issue lies with the organization’s corporate structure and ownership priorities.
“No, this is like one of the most profitable sports organizations in history,” he said. “Their investors have gotten greedy. They’re in control. They are looking at the P&Ls and being like, ‘Yo, we can just keep pumping this.’ And they forgot their heart as a company. That’s the problem. And so it’s dying.”
Paul expanded his criticism beyond business decisions, taking aim at the style of competition he believes has contributed to declining fan interest in mixed martial arts. He specifically referenced dominant grappling-heavy champions as examples of what he considers less entertaining competition.
“MMA hasn’t stood the test of time because the best people in the sport become wrestlers and they just hold on,” he said, referencing stars like Khabib Nurmagomedov and rising contenders such as Khamzat Chimaev. “This is boring. No one wants to watch that.”
He contrasted MMA’s relatively short history with the longevity of boxing, arguing that the sport’s structure and governance have played a role in its sustained popularity.
“Boxing has been around since the 1500s,” he said. “MMA is 30 years and it’s declining. And also because it’s not ran properly and they’re becoming greedy and it’s like a super corporate organization where they’re signed with Paramount. They have stockholders. It’s a part of the WWE, a public company.”
A major focus of Paul’s criticism centered on athlete compensation. He compared the UFC’s revenue-sharing model to that of the NFL, arguing that mixed martial artists receive a significantly smaller percentage of overall earnings.
“The NFL pays their athletes 50% of the revenue,” he said. “If the NFL makes a billion dollars, the athletes make 500 million. In the UFC, it’s 150 million out of a billion. But when you exclude Conor McGregor and Jon Jones from that, it becomes like 5%, 50 million out of a billion.”
Paul also addressed the launch of Zuffa Boxing, the UFC’s new venture into professional boxing. In his view, the promotion is already repeating mistakes by offering large purses that contradict the UFC’s traditional pay structure.
“They just started and they’re already making a lot of mistakes and are quite basic,” he said. “You don’t want to pay Conor Benn $15 million to do an easy matchup against Regis right off the bat, because your whole UFC model is paying fighters like one-third of that max.”
Despite the criticism, Paul ended on a more conciliatory note, suggesting that collaboration between his promotion and the UFC could be mutually beneficial.
“Maybe if they were to buy us or partner with us, they would have such a better outcome, which I truly believe,” he said. “I’m open to it. We’ll help you guys not be idiots. I don’t have an ego, bro. I’ll work with anybody.”
