Jake Paul's promoter has furiously called out Dana White's 'blatant lie' over his fighter's huge bout against Anthony Joshua.
Paul vs. Joshua is set for December 19 in Miami.
The professional heavyweight clash will air on Netflix as both fighters faced off in a launch presser last week.
'AJ' towered over 'The Problem Child' in their face-off as Ryan Garcia, who was in the running to replace Gervonta Davis, explained why it won't go ahead.
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Ariel Helwani hosted the presser and he had Most Valuable Promotions chief Nakisa Bidarian on his show, where they discussed everything Paul vs. Joshua.
In Monday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, Helwani brought up UFC CEO White and his lack of knowledge about Paul vs. Joshua happening before it was made official.
Asked about Paul vs. Joshua during the UFC 322 post-fight press conference, White said he was unaware of the showdown before saying: "Oh Jesus. That’s a f**king bad idea, but let me tell you what, a lot of people will watch that one.
"You know what everyone is tuning in for on that one," he added. "I think everybody’s gonna get what they’ve finally been waiting for."
Bidarian was asked about White's claim to which he replied by calling it a 'blatant lie', stating TKO Group - the company that owns WWE and UFC - knew about Paul vs. Joshua.
"I saw three key things, and the last one is telling for the first one," the MVP promoter began.
"First thing I think he said was he wasn’t aware of it. Second thing he said was it was a bad idea. Third thing he said was ‘yeah I’ll watch it’ because everyone wants to see what’s going to happen and it’s finally going to happen."
Bidarian, who used to work for the UFC, added: "To be clear, there’s obviously a distaste for Jake Paul when you’re talking about ‘I want to see him get knocked out’. That’s been well-known and I understand the dynamic that’s been built over time.
"To say 'I wasn’t aware of it' is a blatant lie. Dana lies on a frequent basis, so that doesn’t surprise me. I know for a fact TKO was aware of this event, the discussions, the conclusion and that it was going to be announced, so that’s a blatant lie.
"I know people at TKO at various levels; it was a blatant lie. Dana White pays attention to every single thing Jake Paul does, whether he admits it or not."
White and Paul have butted heads over the years, with the YouTuber-turned-boxer often criticising the UFC boss over fighter pay.
SPORTbible has reached out to Dana White for comment.
Topics: Dana White, Jake Paul, Boxing, UFC
Nasir Jabbar