UFC president Dana White has rejected talk of BMF belt-holder Jorge Masvidal of switching to the boxing ring to fight Jake Paul, after the YouTube performer and Masvidal expressed interest in duking it out in the squared circle.
White and Paul have engaged in a war of words for some time, with the UFC boss mocking Paul’s choice of opposition, while the YouTube star has lobbied to fight some of the promotion’s fighters and has already beaten former UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
Masvidal and Paul have engaged in some back-and-forth since the Miami native tipped Woodley to defeat Paul. Both men have said they’d be willing to enter the ring. But White thinks Paul should approach the likes of former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who’s competed at light heavyweight in boxing, instead of focusing on smaller fighters.
“You’re not gonna fight 170-pound Jorge Masvidal who’s ranked top 10 in the world. No. He fights here, he’s under contract with us. Go fight somebody your own size.
“Anderson Silva is not in contract, he’s 46 years old, that’s the age group you love to fight, and he’s your size, and he’s actually winning fights. If you look at Jake Paul’s history, Jake Paul either fights basketball players who have never fought, or he wants to fight washed-up older guys who haven’t fought in years,” he told News Corp.
“Anderson Silva has actually been boxing, he’s won some fights, he’s 46 years old, and he’s in your weight class. There you go, that’s a no brainer, fight Anderson Silva.”
White used the opportunity to push Silva for a fight with Paul, saying the YouTuber had trouble beating Woodley.
“He barely won that one. Now you want to fight a guy who’s ranked in the top 10, that weighs 170 pounds, is still relevant in the fighting world when you have Anderson who’s not under contract with anybody and has just won two boxing matches. There you go. You’re welcome. I just made your next boxing match for you, but I bet you don’t see that one happening. Wanna bet?”
Paul responded to White’s comments, continuing the feud.
“Dana admitted this morning that I would destroy “170” pound Masvidal,” he tweeted, along with a screenshot of a recent headline in which Derek Brunson said he’d take a “tune-up” fight with Paul. “So Dana will you give Brunson permission to make some real money? Dana?”
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