Jake Paul managed to sneak Conor McGregor into his latest fighter pay message, which doubled as a mocking tweet to Dillon Danis ahead of his boxing debut.
Paul, who is planning to start a union to help fighters improve their conditions, was stunned to hear that Danis is making in the region of seven figures to face KSI in a boxing match next month. Most UFC champions, including the famed heavyweight ruler Francis Ngannou, earn considerably less than £1million per fight, which Danis noted when he revealed his purse.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer took to social media to express his annoyance at fighter pay remaining the same in the UFC while promoters have increased the pay-per-view price for next year. And as usual for Paul, he snuck in shots at Danis and McGregor in his message.
After reading of American PPV prices moving from $75 to $80, Paul tweeted: "Meanwhile a bum whose claim to fame is being Conor’s friend [Danis] is making a bigger purse to box a YouTuber [KSI] than all current UFC champions. UFC makes almost $500m a year. If they were to increase minimum fighter pay to $50K per fight, at most it will cost them $20m."
Paul, a YouTuber in his own right before transitioning into full-time professional boxing, has had his many run-ins with Danis, but was unable to fight him back at the start of 2021. He ended up facing Ben Askren, a legendary former Bellator and ONE FC champion and Olympic wrestler, who he stopped within a round.
What do you make of Dillon Danis being paid seven figures to fight KSI? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Now, he believes that Danis is not at the level of being able to fight him, after he amassed a 6-0 professional record that includes a knockout win over ex-UFC champion Tyron Woodley and a decision victory over the legendary Anderson Silva. Danis has never boxed professionally, and is just 2-0 in MMA under the Bellator banner.
“I’m 2-0 and I’m about to make more money than any guy in MMA right now,” he said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “It actually might be close to Izzy [Israel Adesanya] and Conor’s not fighting right now. I’m telling you. I saw what Paulo [Costa] was supposed to make against [Robert] Whittaker and that’s what I was getting in my first fight for Bellator. That’s nothing.
"It’s embarrassing. I got more than that in my first fight in Bellator. I’m still the most relevant at 2-0 and I’m about to make the biggest bag out of anybody in MMA, active. I’m not going to say [how much], but it’s way more than anybody. Once it comes out, then you can see. It’ll come out. I’m telling you, I’m making more money than any UFC champion right now."
