'He's trying to get Jake Paul to fight for the UFC now' - Triller bigwig Ryan Kavanaugh accuses Dana White of poaching
Triller bigwig Ryan Kavanaugh has accused UFC president Dana White of poaching Jake Paul from Triller.
Ryan Kavanaugh, a well-known entrepreneur and Hollywood mainstay, recently took to his official Instagram account to post about Dana White allegedly trying to poach talent from Triller.
Ryan Kavanaugh’s Instagram post read as follows –
“#danawhite and #ufc just blocked @georgesstpierre from fighting @oscardelahoya . It is a big payday for GSP and both he and Oscar’s dream to fight each other. Dana would rather hold back those who put the UFC where it is and why? @snoopdogg @jakepaul @mariolopez @teofimolopez @keviniole I’ve tried to call and Text Dana at least 5 times to make it work for both parties not even the courtesy of a return call. And he’s trying to get #jakepaul to fight for the ufc now? Making him offers? Just hurting his own people and chasing ours. @manoukakopyan”
Ryan Kavanaugh accused Dana White of trying to sign one of Triller’s biggest stars, Jake Paul, to the UFC. The initial part of Kavanaugh’s Instagram post against Dana White claimed that White had just blocked MMA legend Georges St-Pierre from fighting boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya.
Furthermore, Ryan Kavanaugh claimed that Dana White is making offers to Jake Paul to get Paul to fight for the UFC. On that note, Kavanaugh suggested that White is not only “hurting his own people” but also “chasing” Triller’s fighters.
As of this writing, Dana White is yet to respond to the latest jibe by Triller co-founder and co-owner Ryan Kavanaugh. Triller boss Kavanaugh has engaged in a verbal back and forth with White in the past as well.
Are Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh and UFC’s Dana White at odds over procuring Jake Paul’s services?
Widely regarded as one of the more risk-taking entrepreneurs in the world – both celebrated and criticized for his innovative and unorthodox approach to the entertainment industry – Ryan Kavanaugh co-founded and co-owns Triller with music legend Snoop Dogg.
While Dana White and Snoop Dogg have known each other for years and are also believed to be on good terms, White has previously criticized Triller. White had even gone as far as questioning the legitimacy of the claims made by Triller regarding PPV sales of its Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren (April 17th, 2021) boxing event.
Many combat sports fans and experts have expressed their appreciation for YouTube megastar and internet personality Jake Paul. The younger brother of fellow internet personality Logan Paul, Jake Paul made his professional boxing debut in January 2020 and has amassed a 3-0 record thus far.
With wins over YouTuber AnEsonGib, former NBA star Nate Robinson, and former UFC star Ben Askren, Jake Paul’s popularity as an up-and-coming pro boxer has been rising. The internet personality has taken the combat sports world by storm over the past several months.
Moreover, in a recent interview with MMA icon Chael Sonnen, Jake Paul confirmed that he’d only signed a one-fight deal with Triller and plans to continue signing one-fight deals only. Paul emphasized that this is to ensure that no promoter unfairly controls his combat sports career.
Jake Paul added that he’s currently a free agent. This, in turn, would imply that both Triller and the UFC are within their rights to approach Jake Paul with business proposals.
Nevertheless, the consensus is that Jake Paul is unlikely to sign with the UFC. This is because the UFC is an MMA organization, and Jake Paul has consistently maintained that he aims to compete in professional boxing and not MMA.
That said, there’s also the possibility of Dana White revisiting the Zuffa boxing venture. This could commence a potential business relationship between White and the UFC on one hand and Jake Paul on the other, as Paul can be roped in to compete in boxing matches under the UFC’s Zuffa boxing banner.
Presently, as insinuated by Jake Paul in his interview with Chael Sonnen, Paul is free to field offers from any boxing promoter who’s able and willing to offer him the biggest fights and the biggest paydays.
What are your views on Ryan Kavanaugh’s accusations against Dana White? Sound off in the comments.