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Dana White Threatens Jake Paul With Legal Action As YouTuber Calls Out Conor McGregor

Dana White Threatens Jake Paul With Legal Action As YouTuber Calls Out Conor McGregor

"What the f*** do these guys keep talking to UFC guys for?"

Alex Reid

Alex Reid

Dana White has threatened Jake Paul with legal action over his constant challenges to fight active UFC fighters in an expletive-filled tirade.

After the YouTuber's first-round KO win over former UFC fighter Ben Askren in a boxing bout on Saturday, Paul once again called out Conor McGregor saying that fight "just became more realistic".

Not in the eyes of Dana White. The UFC president asked why Jake Paul wasn't fighting genuine pro boxers - and said he'll pursue legal action if he continues calling out under-contract UFC - in an angry response to the social media star.

"Why don't you go fight a f***ing boxer?" White told Yahoo Sports reporter Kevin Iole. "What the f*** do these guys keep talking to UFC guys for?

"I'm gonna have to slap them with another f***ing legal letter, these f***ing idiots. Go talk to f***ing boxers. What are you doing?"

It's clear that White is tired of the speculation that Jake Paul might have a boxing showdown with an active UFC fighter (which might be tempting, given the reported millions involved). So this was a warning to Paul, to US promoters Triller and to any UFC fighter that White was not going to stand for any arrangement.

McGregor is scheduled to have his third fight with Dustin Poirier as the headline of UFC 264 in July. So it appears Paul's dream fight is still a long way away, even after his demolition of 'Funky' in Atlanta this past weekend.

While White his clearly no fan of YouTubers and social media stars entering the combat sports world, he did praise Paul and the Triller Fight Club team for finding a unique gap in the market.

"It's not my thing but that doesn't mean it's not other people's things," White told Yahoo Sports.

"When you look at this whole Jake Paul thing that's going on right now, boxing continues to go like this [motions downwards]. This is the right guy with the right shtick at the right time.

"This guy is playing this thing perfectly, and boxing is in such a bad place, they're doing a really good job at sucking in people to buy into this thing. And good for him."

Paul now boasts a professional boxing record of 3-0 (all wins via stoppage) after he crunched a straight right onto Askren's jaw.

However his victories have come against a fellow YouTuber, a retired NBA player and now an ex-MMA fighter.

So we wait and see whether Paul accepts White's challenge of fighting a pro boxer yet - or he ignores the warning and continues to risk the UFC chief's wrath by calling out the promotion's combatants.

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Topics: Conor Mcgregor, Boxing, Jake Paul, Jake Paul vs Ben Askren, UFC, MMA, Dana White