Jake Paul responds to ‘bum’ Dana White, says Conor McGregor has lost ‘it’

YouTube star turned pro boxer Jake Paul may have never stepped in the cage, but he continues to be one of the loudest voices in support of higher pay for UFC fighters – and biggest critic of UFC President Dana White.

On Thursday, Paul refuted White’s recent claim that he wanted to sign with the industry-leading promotion and was rejected by the UFC exec.

“You may have bullied your way to controlling thousands of fighters careers...but I have never said I want to sign with the UFC...nor will I ever,” Paul wrote on Instagram. “Maybe I would consider letting you co-promote one of my events against a UFC champion like you did for Conor [McGregor] when he fought Floyd [Mayweather] ... because you wouldn’t let Conor actually do it himself without you taking your cut.”

During a recent interview with CNBC, White corrected a reporter who incorrectly linked Paul to the UFC, saying, “He wanted to sign with us – I wouldn’t sign him.”

That apparently drew another fiery response from Paul, who’s repeatedly taken White to task over the issue of fighter pay in response to slights in the media.

“You live in lies and every major fighter on your roster has complained about pay ... Conor, [Jon] Jones, [Jorge]Masvidal, [Nate] Diaz, [Francis] Ngannou,” Paul wrote. “You even make up fake belts to sell tickets instead of giving Amanda Nunes her opportunity to headline.

“Remember Dana you were a cardio kickboxing instructor and didn’t even create the UFC ([Rorian] Gracie and [Art] Davie created it, the Fertittas saved it, and the FIGHTERS made it popular). YOU’RE a bald bum who can’t do an interview now without being asked about me ... pay your fighters more.”

As his combat sports star has risen, Paul repeatedly has called for a showdown with McGregor. At one point, Paul reportedly offered the Irish star $50 million to meet him in the boxing ring. When that didn’t produce a response, he turned his attention toward other targets, including Daniel Cormier, who confronted him in person when he attended UFC 261.

On Saturday, McGregor faces Dustin Poirier in a trilogy fight at UFC 264, Paul also took the opportunity to take a shot at his rival with one of the biggest octagon events of the year on the horizon.

In his most recent pay-per-view appearance, Paul knocked out former UFC welterweight and multi-title MMA champ Ben Askren at an event that reportedly drew over 1 million PPV buys. His next boxing match is set for Aug. 28 against former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. The PPV event is promoted by Showtime.

White has called Paul’s two-time promoter, Triller Fight Club, a “circus” and dismissed its reported pay-per-view numbers for Paul-headlined events as fake. White has previously said he would never do business with Jake Paul, but was more even-handed when discussing the success of the YouTube star’s older brother, Logan Paul, who went the distance with Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition that reportedly generated over 1 million buys on PPV.

McGregor, meanwhile, has repeatedly insulted the Paul brothers, calling them “dingbats” in a recent interview while not outright dismissing the possibility of a future showdown.