Jake Paul has called McGregor an ‘Irish c***’, poked fun at Cormier’s weight and even told ex-world champion Froch to fight on his UNDERCARD… now the master of social media manipulation is set for a career-high payday against Tommy Fury
- YouTuber Jake Paul has insulted some of the biggest names in combat sports
- He has got under the skin of a number of fighters on social media in recent years
- His approach has put him in the position for a huge payday against Tommy Fury
When it comes to self-promotion in combat sports, Jake Paul has become a master at peaking fans’ interest.
Having started out as a YouTuber, the 26-year-old has become a boxing PPV star within three years of making his professional debut, and he is set to have the biggest fight of his career against Tommy Fury on Sunday night.
It has been a remarkable rise for the 26-year-old, and it has all centred around one thing: his use of social media.
Since stepping into the ring with fellow YouTuber AnEson Gib in January 2020, Paul has made a habit of calling out some of the biggest names in boxing and MMA.
Whether he has truly wanted to fight any of them is up for debate, but he has certainly caught their attention.
Jake Paul has become the master at getting under the skin of fighters on social media
And some of them could not resist biting back, which is exactly what Paul wants.
Sportsmail takes a look at Paul’s high-profile call-outs that have made him one of boxing’s most controversial figures.
Cormier confronts Paul after ‘fat boy’ jibe
Daniel Cormier is a former two-weight UFC champion, and regarded by many as one of the best ever to step into the Octagon. But Paul doesn’t care about reputations.
The spat between the pair started when Cormier hit out at Paul after he and his friend J’Leon Love got into a heated exchange with Tyron Woodley backstage after beating Ben Askren in April 2021.
‘I mean the way this dude talked to T-Wood makes my skin crawl. All these kids are going to get taught a lesson I swear. And I can’t wait for it, @JLeonLove you can’t fight. Better respect dudes like @TWooodley before he puts his hands on you. He ain’t Ben!’ Cormier tweeted.
It did not take Paul long to respond as he replied: ‘Okay fat boy. So me vs you and J vs. T.??’
Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier confronted Jake Paul after he called him a ‘fat boy’
The following week, Paul attended UFC 261, and Cormier, who was commentating on the event, decided to confront his fellow American in person.
The two men came face-to-face, with Cormier pointing in Paul’s face as he angrily made his point.
When asked to reveal what he’d told Paul, Cormier said: ‘I pointed at him, I said, “Don’t play with me.” Because I’ll slap that s*** out of him. I don’t play those games.’
The capacity-crowd in Jacksonville, Florida made it clear whose side they were on by chanting ‘f*** Jake’, but Paul unsurprisingly enjoyed his moment in the spotlight and played up to his image as the villain by sticking his middle fingers up at the fans.
Paul sends chilling warning to Bisping
After beating Tyron Woodley for a second time in December 2021, Paul was having difficulty finding his next opponent, so put out a hit list of fighters that he was willing to face. Ex-UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping featured on it.
Bisping has never been one to hold his tongue, and he swiftly responded by claiming that Paul would not actually want to fight him due to having no obvious advantages physically.
‘Come on Jake Paul, you do know I’m about your size? Surely that excludes me from your hit list?’ Bisping tweeted.
Paul retorted: ‘I would knock you out worse than Hendo. You’re an easy fight but show me you can get licensed and I will show you $1M plus PPV…’
Paul was referencing Dan Henderson’s brutal knockout of Bisping in 2009 when he landed a huge overhand right that sent the Brit crashing to the canvas and unable to defend himself.
He also appeared to be making a dig about Bisping’s eligibility to fight, with the popular Englishman now having a glass eye after taking a kick to the face that detached his retina in his clash with Vitor Belfort in 2013.
Paul insults McGregor and his fiancé
Paul insults McGregor and his Paul’s first two professional wins came against YouTuber Gib and former basketball player Nate Robinson.
Yet he has never suffered from a lack of confidence, and raised his profile tenfold by calling out UFC star Conor McGregor.
While smoking a cigar and draped in the Irish flag, Paul posted a video online where he called McGregor an ‘Irish c***’ and insulted his fiancé Dee Devlin by insisting the southpaw ‘could do a lot better’.
He proceeded to claim that he had sent McGregor a $50m offer to fight him, but accused his rival of ‘ducking’ him due to being scared of losing to a YouTuber.
McGregor took his time to respond, but has since called Paul ‘a flop’ and ‘a nobody’.
Paul has continued to taunt McGregor over the years, and is adamant that he would knock the Irishman out with his ‘right hand of God’.
The pair are yet to settle their differences in the ring, but Paul has continued to build his following by launching regular attacks on one of MMA’s biggest stars.
WARNING: The video below contains explicit language
https://youtube.com/watch?v=S_KXpZyQKm8%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Jake Paul called out Conor McGregor and insulted his fiancé Dee Devlin
Paul sets his sights on White
In the same video that he called out McGregor, Paul also made his feelings on UFC president Dana White crystal clear by calling him a ‘f***ing b****’.
The feud between Paul and White would only develop from there, with Paul all too happy to brag about beating UFC fighters as he got the better of Askren, Woodley and Anderson Silva.
Meanwhile, Paul has also slammed White over the issue of fighter pay and healthcare in the UFC, and accused him of using cocaine.
White hit back by claiming Paul uses steroids, and gave short shrift to his idea on how to improve fighter pay.
Posting a video online, White said: ‘You publicly stated that I use cocaine; I do not. So I told you [that] you could randomly cocaine test me for the next 10 years. I believe that you’re a cheater and I believe that you use steroids, so I want to randomly steroid test you for the next two years.’
‘And that [UFC contract proposal] that you came out with today, nobody on Earth thinks that you really wrote that. You’re too stupid.’
Paul has split opinion with his criticism of White, but once again he got people talking and made sure that more fans would be tuning in to watch his next fight, either to see him win or get knocked out.
Froch reacts to Paul taunts
Paul has often been the instigator in his feuds with various fighters, but that has not always been the case.
Ahead of Paul’s upcoming fight with Tommy Fury, four-time super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch was asked for his opinion, and he labelled Paul a ‘clown’ while also claiming a potential fight between the pair would be a ‘mismatch’.
Paul did not take too kindly to Froch’s comments and replied: ‘Carl Froch mad because I made more in one year than he made his whole career.
‘You want the payday. I get it.
‘So let’s do this, fight Anderson Silva on my next card and if you get lucky and beat him, then we can step in the ring and you make your career payday. Let me know.’
Telling a former world champion to fight on his undercard was a bold move from Paul, and one that riled up Froch who opted to post a threatening video to the American.
Carl Froch sent Jake Paul a video message threatening to put him into ‘f***ing orbit’
‘I won’t be fighting the mixed martial arts legend Anderson Silva on your undercard. I’ve got too much respect for him. And your punch when you boxed him, did that even land? Very dubious,’ Froch said.
‘You’ve got a job to do against Tommy Fury. If by some miracle you manage to beat Tommy Fury, then I’ll listen to you.
‘But until then, don’t talk about me in the same league as you. I’m a four-time world champion. Two WBC titles there. You’ll never, ever have one of them. You’re not good enough. You’re not a professional fighter. You’re a performing clown. That’s all you are.
‘So keep my name out of your mouth until you’ve done something in the game. I think this weekend, your world ends.
‘But if it doesn’t, and you are stupid enough to take a fight with me, when this right hand lands on your chin, it will put you into f***ing orbit and knock that stupid barnet off the top of your head.’
Paul and Fury’s face-to-face altercation
Paul’s fight with Fury has been years in the making. In fact, it’s been scheduled twice only to be cancelled on both occasions after Fury pulled out.
After plenty of back and forth online, the pair finally came face-to-face in a corridor backstage after Paul’s split-decision win over Woodley in August 2021.
Both men knew that the cameras were rolling and appeared to enjoy every second of it.
‘You need to stop running my friend, and let’s get it on!’ Fury told Paul.
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will finally meet in the ring in Saudi Arabia on Sunday
‘You can barely be my sparring partner for four rounds,’ Paul hit back.
‘Take the fight!’ Fury responded as he was dragged away by security.
The long-term rivals now have their wish as they prepare to finally settle the score in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
They are both set for career-high paydays, and Paul owes a lot to his social media presence for getting him into this position.
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