When Anthony Smith called for fighters to boycott Jake Paul if he beats Anderson Silva
Anthony Smith once questioned Jake Paul's contrasting principles when it came to the UFC and its fighters. 'Lionheart' had also encouraged his fellow fighters to boycott Paul if he beat Anderson Silva.
Most recently, Paul poured scorn on UFC veteran Luke Rockhold's performance against Paulo Costa at UFC 278. His comments were met with some serious backlash from the MMA community. On the flip side, he had praised Rockhold earlier that week for speaking up about the UFC's unfair treatment of its fighters.
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…
Anthony Smith pointed out that while Jake Paul claims to be working relentlessly for fighter pay and welfare, the YouTuber-turned-boxer continues to belittle MMA fighters:
“If Jake Paul beats Anderson Silva, we should all f**king boycott the rest of his fights. Until he f**king fights someone that’s on his level. Or whatever level we deem him to be on. You talk all this sh*t about MMA fighters. You talk sh*t about the UFC when you pretend you want to bring fighters up. Older, shorter, smaller, past their prime."
Smith further added:
"We hold these guys near and dear to our hearts. And then this f**khead just pulls them out of f**king semi-retirement. And then just knock them out on f**king pay-per-view and then sh*ts on all of us."
Watch Anthony Smith encourage fighters to boycott Paul on the Believe You Me Podcast:
Jake Paul encouraged Nate Diaz to join him and Silva as a member of the United Fighters Association
Jake Paul engaged in a thrilling eight-round back-and-forth contest with MMA legend Anderson Silva this past weekend. 'The Problem Child's pugilism skills were put to the test and the American dropped Silva with a powerful overhand right in the last round to win the fight by unanimous decision.
6-0. https://t.co/jviwNjlVnZ
The YouTuber-turned-boxer extended his record to 6-0 and called out Nate Diaz for a potential fight inside the squared circle. The Stockton native recently fought out his UFC contract with a submission victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279.
At the Paul vs. Silva event, Diaz and his entouage got into a backstage melee with Paul's team. The 25-year-old took to Twitter to chastise Diaz for his actions while also inviting him to join the United Fighters Association:
"Oh Nathan, coming into my dressing room before my fight? Throwing drinks like a pu**y. Will settle this if u ever get out of your UFC contract. Until then let’s change the game. I got big plans. I invite you to join Anderson & I to launch the United Fighters Association. In?"
Oh Nathan, coming into my dressing room before my fight? Throwing drinks like a pussy. Will settle this if u ever get out of your UFC contract.
Until then let’s change the game. I got big plans. I invite you to join Anderson & I to launch the United Fighters Association. In? twitter.com/natediaz209/st…
Jake Paul has claimed that the association will help UFC fighters get better pay and better healthcare.