"He's got to start fighting some boxers" - UFC president Dana White explains what Jake Paul needs to do to impress him
Dana White is not impressed with Jake Paul's accomplishments in the boxing ring so far. The UFC boss, however, revealed what the YouTube star needs to do in order to gain his admiration.
Jake Paul has amassed a perfect pro-boxing record of three wins with three knockouts. But according to Dana White, there's only one way he'll consider 'The Problem Child' a legitimate fighter. Speaking to Kyle Forgeard and Bob Menery on the Full Send podcast, the UFC head honcho said:
"He's got to start fighting some boxers to prove that. And I would imagine that, in the gym, he's trained with plenty of boxers. So, there's a reason he's not fighting boxers. He wants to keep fighting these retired UFC wrestler guys."
White was asked if he was at all impressed with Jake Paul's blossoming career in combat sports. In response, the MMA fight promoter listed reasons why Paul's victories were of little value:
"The thing is, with Jake Paul, he's never fought anyone his size or fought somebody who's actually a boxer," White said. "He beat up a 40-something-year-old NBA player who's 30 pounds lighter than him. Then after that, he fights Askren. I still thought Askren should've done better than he did."
Dana White acknowledged, however, that Paul's upcoming showdown against former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley is nothing to be scoffed at. White continued:
"And now, Woodley. They're not in the same weight class either. But Woodley is a real guy. Woodley's a wrestler, but Woodley can f***ing punch. But let's not forget, Woodley hasn't won in three f***ing years. He hasn't won a fight in three years and he's 40-years-old."
Watch Dana White's complete interview:
Dana White rules out future partnership with Jake Paul
The UFC president was also asked if he would welcome a working relationship with Jake Paul in the future. White said that he "never says never" to anything but promoting the YouTuber's fights is something he doesn't intend to do.
"It's just not what I do. There's a market for that. I mean, he can fight a different type of celebrity every week and there's gonna be a segment of the population that wants to pay for that and see it. But that's not what I do. I put the best against the best."