Dana White didn’t know about Jake Paul calling out UFC champion Alex Pereira after his recent win, because he just doesn’t follow what Paul is doing these days.
In the past, the UFC CEO repeatedly allowed himself to get sucked into verbal battles with Paul through interviews and social media, but White eventually decided he has no interest in giving his attention to something that has no impact on his business. While he’s not been a fan of Paul boxing his longtime friend, 58-year-old Mike Tyson, White has done his best to avoid taking unnecessary shots at the 27-year-old Paul in recent months.
White promises his stance regarding Paul hasn’t changed, which is why he didn’t address the Pereira callout, much less tune in to watch him fight UFC veteran Mike Perry, who Paul defeated via sixth-round knockout.
“Let me tell you something about the Jake Paul thing, the media just eats all his bullshit and they actually print it,” White told TNT Sports. “It’s the weirdest thing ever. Not only did I not tell Perry if he won, he’d get in the UFC, I haven’t even talked to Perry in a long time. I didn’t even know Jake Paul was fighting. I was on vacation in Italy, I had no idea. There’s all these stories that were written, it’s ridiculous.
“I stopped paying attention to Jake Paul when he lost to [Tommy] Fury. When he fought somebody that was his age and actually boxed, he lost.”
Of course, Paul rarely misses an opportunity to take shots at White, especially when calling out UFC athletes under exclusive contract that he knows won’t be able to fight him.
That’s been the case for years whenever Paul called for a fight against Conor McGregor and nothing much has changed when it comes to Pereira, who is the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion.
Still, White doesn’t feel like opening Pandora’s box again to take unnecessary jabs at Paul just to start another war of words.
But the same criticism White had about Paul’s boxing career in the past still stands true in the present.
“I’m not shitting on the kid,” White said. “I don’t even think about him anymore. It doesn’t even cross my mind. I have no beef with him. [He said,] ‘They’re trying to get me assassinated!’ Nobody’s trying to get you assassinated.
“I respect Perry. Smaller, older, it’s the same blueprint — fighting older, smaller guys. I literally don’t ever even think about him anymore. It’s all bullshit.”
