Share
20th April 2021
03:04pm BST
Ben Askren was knocked out by Jake Paul during the first round of their cruiserweight bout during Triller Fight Club at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 17, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Triller)[/caption]
Many were therefore surprised to see Jake Paul pick up the win, not least UFC president Dana White, who denied reports he bet $1 million on Ben Askren being the victor.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports, White was asked for his thoughts on Jake Paul potentially going up against two big UFC hitters, Tyron Woodley and Daniel Cormier.
Both men have been linked with Paul in recent days, but White was less than welcoming of the suggestion.
"Why don't you go fight a f***ing boxer? Why the f*** do these guys keep talking to UFC guys for? Go talk to f***ing boxers."
White claimed the current status of Jake Paul within boxing was indicative of the sport's decline.
"Boxing continues to go like this [pointing down].
"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. Good for him."
https://twitter.com/MichaelBensonn/status/1384491035963887620?s=20
Conor McGregor is yet another UFC star who has been linked with a potential Jake Paul clash.
'The Notorious' is set to go up against Dustin Poirier in a trilogy fight later this year, but he is no stranger to boxing after previously facing Floyd Mayweather.
If he does go up against Jake Paul, Ryan Garcia doesn't think McGregor would be able to knock the YouTuber out.
https://twitter.com/JOE_co_uk/status/1381661952896868361?s=20Explore more on these topics:
