Jake Paul has fared pretty well in his war of words with UFC President Dana White. The YouTube star turned 3-0 pro boxer has hit White repeatedly with claims he is criminally underpaying fighters and taking undeserved credit (and profit) from the UFC’s successes.
Recently White was put on the hot seat regarding fighter pay when he and UFC parent company owner Ari Emanuel appeared on CNBC news. Check the clip below, courtesy of @FullContractMTWF, to see what White had to say when the TV anchor mistakenly claimed that Paul was part of the UFC.
The reporter says that Jake Paul fights for the UFC.
Ari Emanuel says that Dana White created the sport of MMA 25-30 years ago. pic.twitter.com/x6cVf3YFDp
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) July 7, 2021
“Hey, that bum didn’t fight for me!,” responded White. “You’ve got to get your story straight. He didn’t fight for me. He’s out there complaining about fighter pay… He wanted to sign with us! I wouldn’t sign him.”
During that appearance Emanuel made a few interesting claims. One being that White had invented mixed martial arts, which of course he did not. Emanuel also, in defending the UFC’s low revenue-to-fighter-pay ratio, also claimed that fighter revenue had increased 600% since 2005.
That second claim was puzzling to Bloody Elbow financial analyst John S. Nash.
When Ari Emanuel says fighter pay is up 600% since 2005 I’m not sure if he’s referring to their minimum or average pay. Total fight comp is up over 30x since 2005. Meanwhile revenue is up18x & EBITDA – the UFC’s earnings – is up 63x since then. https://t.co/W25Pc2EVWQ
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) July 8, 2021
Nash pointed out that, by his reckoning fighter pay was 30 times higher than it was in 2005. However, Nash—who has extensively reported on financial disclosure documents regarding the UFC—said the company’s earnings were 63 times higher.
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