"You don't f**king understand what fighting is"- Luke Rockhold rips Jake Paul for his comments about Rockhold after the Paulo Costa fight
Luke Rockhold recently retired from mixed martial arts following his UFC 278 loss to Paulo Costa. Rockhold spent the week calling out UFC President Dana White for issues with fighter pay. Jake Paul, who has called White out for similar issues, criticized Rockhold's last fight, drawing a response from the former middleweight champion.
While speaking with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, Rockhold addressed Paul's criticisms of the fight, stating (starting at the :55 mark):
I don't think I really opened my mouth about you, don't open your mouth about me. You just - you don't f**king understand what fighting is. When you're thinking about fighting, you got to think about dying.
Rockhold went on to compare the differences between boxing and mixed martial arts, adding:
Boxing is boxing. Putting these f**king puffy little pads on your hands and all you got to worry about is your f**king hands. Think about elbows, think about knees, think about grappling, think about kicks, think about f**king every god d**n thing we think about. Put you in a state of reality, which you've lost touch with.
Helwani noted that Jake Paul attempted to compare himself to Luke Rockhold by questioning how people would react if he was in that fight. Rockhold laughed off the comparison and stated:
The reality of the modern day. When people like that, they think they're like - he thinks he's like a f**king Ali. Shut the f**k up. Go back in your f**king hole before I f**king smack the s**t out of you.
Watch Luke Rockhold's full comments on Jake Paul below:
Luke Rockhold, Jake Paul, and fighter pay
Both Luke Rockhold and Jake Paul have called out the UFC over how fighters are paid and the benefits that they receive. Rockhold recently called out the promotion at his media day press conference for UFC 278.
Luke Rockhold just *went off* on UFC fighter pay, bonus structure and health care at #UFC278 media day. 🗣️
Full interview: bit.ly/3dAmmrl https://t.co/mQkka2PPDj
Paul has targeted UFC President Dana White on several occasions in the past. Following Rockhold's comments, he voiced his support, which made his decision to target Rockhold all the more confusing.
Shoutout to Luke for speaking up. Imagine if all the champs came together and voiced the same. UFC has achieved amazing things…now it can & should step up and provide these fighters their fair share. twitter.com/MMAJunkie/stat…
Ariel Helwani, who exchanged in a war of words on Twitter with Paul following the fight, ripped the YouTuber for his negative comments. Helwani stated that everything Paul has said about fighter pay is discredited due to his decision to target someone who has been affected by the issues, yet still decided to speak up, noting that Paul is unaffected by the business side of the UFC.