UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has praised Jake Paul’s boxing abilities, saying the YouTube star is not simply after “clout”.
Paul, 25, has gone 5-0 as a professional boxer, knocking out every opponent he has fought – including two former mixed martial arts champions in Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.
Adesanya, who retained his UFC middleweight title against rival Robert Whittaker this month, has now opened up on his friendship with Paul, praising the American for his in-ring skills and general mindset.
“If you don’t know him, you just kind of fall into that, ‘Ah, this snobby little kid, we think he’s just doing this for attention, for likes or clout.’ But you talk to him and it’s like: ‘Yo, he’s really serious,’” the Nigerian-born New Zealander told talkSPORT.
“He really wants to f*** dudes up, he’s already doing that. Look at his last fight, he knocked out Woodley crazy.”
Adesanya, 32, revealed he went to Paul’s house after the American knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson in 2020, saying he had some “deep conversations” with the YouTuber and realised Paul is not simply seeking “clout”.
Adesanya recently signed a new UFC contract that has reportedly made him the company’s second-highest earner – behind only Conor McGregor – and the champion acknowledged Paul’s role in putting pressure on UFC president Dana White over fighter pay.
“I think Jake Paul was the right guy at the time,” Adesanya said. “He was one of the guys to get this conversation going that Francis [Ngannou, UFC heavyweight champion] jumped in.
“Just because I got my new deal, doesn’t mean I just shut up about it. I’m not wrong in saying I think everyone should be getting paid equally for their work. I get paid quite nicely and I’m still greedy. This is the game we’re in, in prizefighting.”
