The ‘Problem Child’ and the UFC president have been involved in a bitter feud of the last few years – with White recently reigniting their war of words following a stunning claim
Jake Paul is adamant he remains banned from attending UFC events following an ongoing disputed with Dana White.
The ban may not come as a surprise to many fans as the YouTuber-turned-boxer has been involved in a bitter feud with the UFC president for nearly four years – which began after the ‘Problem Child’ brutally slammed fighters’ pay in the promotion. The last UFC event Paul was able to attend was UFC 261 in April 2021, watching on as former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman brutally knocked out Jorge Masvidal in their rematch.
The 28-year-old was booed by the Florida crowd on that night as they chanted “F*** Jake Paul” and he even had to be separated from UFC legend turned broadcaster Daniel Cormier after getting into an altercation with him at cageside. After trying to buy tickets to attend another UFC event after that night in Florida, Paul later found out he was banned from attending any future events.
“Dana banned me after they were yelling f*** Jake Paul in the stadium, then I tried to go to a different fight and all of our tickets were declined. His assistant was like ‘get the f*** out of here’, and then escorted me out of the event,” Paul said on his podcast. Last October, White rubbished claims that Paul was forbidden from attending any UFC events. He declared that he was barred from the promotion’s fights ahead of sneaking into their landmark card at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
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The youngster, who has been critical of the UFC over the years, asserted he was banned from all events back in 2022 before posting a video of himself wearing a fake beard, wig, flannel shirt, and sunglasses in an attempt to ‘sneak into the Sphere’ last year. The American managed to sneak in and claim a spot near some of the big names in the organisation.
White later revealed Paul’s antics had been pointless. “Oscar De La Hoya was there. OK, let’s put it that way,” he said at the Dana White’s Contender Series. “Nobody’s banned from the UFC. Listen, that kid knows how to market and do his thing and all that good s***. Jake Paul’s welcome to come to UFC.”
Watch Jake Paul vs Chavez live on DAZN
Jake Paul and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr will fight on Saturday exclusively on DAZN with the PPV coming with seven days free access to the streaming platform included in the price.
Paul is set to return to the ring tonight against former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Coincidentally, his showdown with the Mexican takes place on the same night as UFC 317 – headlined by a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira. Ahead of fight night, White renewed his war of words with Paul when he claimed he did not know the YouTuber-turned-boxer would be back in action this weekend.
Paul has recently responded to White in some fashion, saying: “[The] UFC is dying. They don’t have any current stars, they have skilful fighters, but it’s all boring wrestling. Where the Dagestani fighters are winning everything by taking everyone to the ground.” He added: “He can say whatever he wants, but you told him about the fight, right?. So now he knows. That’s what press and media is. We’re selling the pay-per-views. So maybe people don’t know about it today or tomorrow, but on Saturday they’re all going to know.”