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Morning Report: Joe Rogan, Dana White comment on Jake Paul’s appearance at UFC 261

April 30, 2021
UFC 261: Smith v Crute
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Love him or hate him, Jake Paul is certainly eliciting reactions from the MMA world.

Over the last year or so, Paul has begun making headlines in the MMA space as the former Disney Channel star pivoted into celebrity boxing and began trash talking some of MMA’s top stars. Earlier this month, Paul made good on the first of these crossover fights when he knocked out Ben Askren in just two minutes. Following his win, a number of MMA fighters called Paul out and he in turn renewed his callouts of some big names, including former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

Ever the enterprising young man, Paul didn’t stop there though. This past weekend, Paul showed up to the UFC’s first event with fans in over a year, sitting cageside for UFC 261 in Jacksonville, FL. Paul’s appearance elicited derisive chants from the crowd and even led to a run in with Cormier which, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan, may not have been exactly what Paul was planning but was certainly a good outcome for the upstart boxing promoter.

“Well, he wants to make some money. He’s a very clever fellow,” Rogan said on his podcast. “DC said, ‘Take my f***ing name out of your mouth, I’m not a kid, I will f*** you up,’ and he was like, ‘Yikes.’ Look, it’s f***ing former UFC heavyweight champion of the world. That’s not what you want.

“Let me tell you something, we were in Florida, Jacksonville, sold out arena, and they were all chanting ‘F*** Jake Paul.’ He’s filming it. He’s got his phone out, he’s like, ‘Yeah!’ (Because what he’s hearing is) money. He’s hearing ‘Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching!’ He’s making so much money, dude. He said it was 1.5 million PPV buys when he knocked out Ben Askren. I don’t know if that’s true, Dana White says it’s nonsense, but maybe. He doesn’t - who has the f***ing receipts? If he’s lying, why didn’t he say 2 million, why didn’t he say 3 million? Why’d he say 1.5? Maybe he’s telling the truth and if he’s telling the truth, they made a f***ing considerable amount of money. That’s bigger by more than double the very legitimate, three title fight UFC card of this past weekend because that apparently got 700,000 buys. Granted, these are 700,000 ESPN+ verified, absolute buys. There’s no bulls***.

UFC 261 did pull in a reported 700,000 buys on PPV and some reports have Triller Fight Club selling nearly 1.5 million, though those numbers are disputed by some, including UFC President Dana White, who at the post-fight press conference for UFC 261 address Paul’s run-in with Cormier and Triller, calling it a “freakshow” and “a circus” and suggesting that “none of it is real.” White was a little more complimentary of Paul himself who he acknowledged is doing a good job of promoting himself but said he still doesn’t take Paul seriously as a boxer. A few days removed from that, White still feels that way.

Speaking with Morning Blitz last night, White clarified that he doesn’t really have any issues with Paul, his issues are with Paul’s fans who have clamored for the UFC to give him a fight, despite Paul himself not looking for that. However, White did allow that he believes Paul’s dalliance with professional fighting is not long for this world and that pretty soon, he’s going to bite off more than he can chew.

“Listen, at the end of the day, to be honest, I hate the dildos who pop in here and say ‘Hey, pay Jake Paul!’ I hate them worse than I hate Jake Paul,” White said. “But, listen, whatever with this kid. The kid is making money, man. He makes people care, he makes people give a s***. I honestly don’t hate the kid. I know there’s a lot of people who are very excited for the day when he gets clipped and gets knocked out, and it is coming. His 15 minutes are almost up but listen, the kid’s gonna make some money and good for him.”

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VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

PFL 2 highlights.

Cub Swanson career retrospective.

Get to know Jiri Procházka.

Ringing the bell on Wall Street.

Unsolved mysteries in MMA.

LISTEN UP

The Man and the MITH. Discussing Nick Diaz, Usman as P4P #1, and UFC Vegas 25.

UFC Unfiltered. Interviews with Rose Namajunas, Giga Chikadze, and Austin Ekeler.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Big things.

Diego Sanchez.

Damn. Chiesa might be right.

Jimmy Crute.

Jon Jones having a normal one.

Hooper 1,2,5.

Competing ownership.

Claims.

On brand.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Albert Morales 10-6-1) vs. Patchy Mix (13-1); Bellator 258, May 7.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading, enjoy the fights, and see y’all on Monday.

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

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