UFC president Dana White is doubtful about the success of the April 18th Triller Fight Club pay-per-view event.
The Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren pro boxing bout, which headlined TFC's last PPV event, is said to have generated a whopping $75 million, according to Sportbible. The fight has garnered an estimated 1.5 million pay-per-view buys. However, UFC honcho Dana White has dismissed the preposterous numbers, accusing Triller of faking their numbers.
At the UFC 261 post-fight press conference, Dana White addressed the hoopla surrounding Jake Paul's recent victory over Ben Askren:
"The numbers are there? Nah, I don't know if the numbers are there. Listen, do you know what would happen to this guy; he ain't fighting in the UFC... he's getting hand-picked opponents and God knows what else is going on with that whole fu*king thing," said Dana White.
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"The numbers that you're hearing that they did are full of sh*t. They're full of sh*t. Okay? They didn't pull those kinds of numbers, not at all. Not even fu*king close... there is a market for that, people want to see that stuff, and [Jake Paul] is going to make a couple of bucks. Good for him. That's not what I do," added Dana White.
Dana White hails Jake Paul for successfully marketing himself
Jake Paul made waves after his knockout over former professional basketball player Nate Robinson last year, following which he started calling out MMA fighters. The YouTuber turned boxer extended his undefeated streak to 3-0 on April 18th against former Bellator champ Ben Askren.
Dana White, who believes Paul hand-picks his opponents, lauded 'The Problem Child' for putting the combat world on notice. White said:
"This kid has done a good job of putting himself in a place to make some money. Good for him. He's got you guys talking about him all the time... Daniel Cormier running after him. He is doing something right. He knocked out an NBA guy who was 40 years old and 30-pounds less than him. The whole thing is fu*king mind-boggling to me," said the UFC supremo.
Following the victory over Askren, Jake Paul envisions a fight against Conor McGregor coming to fruition soon. The 24-year old expects to break the box-office record, surpassing 3-4 million PPV buys.
"I want to do 3 million, 4 million pay-per-view buys. Who's going to bring in those numbers?" said Jake Paul in an interview with MMA Junkie.