Jorge Masvidal has some harsh words for Jake Paul.
For the past several years, Masvidal and Paul have had an up and down relationship. Originally on good terms when Paul boxed Masvidal foe Ben Askren, the tenor changed over the years as Paul called for a boxing match with Masvidal. That was never possible as Masvidal is still under contract with the UFC, but earlier this year, new hope arose when Masvidal revealed the UFC allowed him to pursue a few boxing fights.
While a number of opponents were possibilities, Masvidal ultimately ended up signing to fight Nate Diaz on June 1 at the Kia Forum. And to hear Masvidal tell it, Paul was never even a consideration.
“He’s not one of the names,” Masvidal told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour when asked about the possible matchup. “And I’ll address that little coward right now because I know he’s watching this s*** like a little creep. ...
“Listen man, the UFC don’t like your b****-ass. [UFC CEO] Dana White don’t like your b****-ass, obviously. [UFC CBO] Hunter Campbell don’t like your b****-ass. So they said, ‘We’re not going to let you make money with this guy.’ Because at the end of the day, we’re partners. Me and Nate are going to make money right now. ... They don’t care for that motherf******. That’s why Dana went and sponsored [Mike] Tyson’s camp and is helping him out and all that s***, because they don’t like him. Jake has done too much s*** to Dana that’s not cool, and that’s our chief and commander. So I get it, they don’t want me to f*** with him and make him any type of notoriety or money. They don’t give a f*** about him.”
Paul has a notoriously bad history with White, feuding aggressively with the UFC CEO over things like fighter pay. Paul one time even proposed a one-off fight in the UFC and a wager on the matter. White, of course, was not interested and so Paul went and became a partner with the PFL, where he has even made mention of fighting Masvidal there. And that’s the thing that really made “Gamebred” mad.
“Now, f****** Jake runs up on me somewhere else where there’s not a ring or something, we can find out, bro,” Masvidal said. “You’re talking about the PFL or something, what the f*** are you going to do in MMA? Are you kidding me, you can’t even box, now all of a sudden you’re doing f****** MMA? I’d kick your f****** kneecap off your fragile body you dumb motherf*****. Don’t ever bring up MMA you disrespectful piece of s***.
“And I’ll tell you why, I’ve been doing that s*** since this motherf***** was f****** sucking on bananas and s*** and shoving them down his throat on f****** YouTube to get hits. I was f****** fighting grown-ass men since the age of 18. My whole life. For this guy to call me out in MMA? Get the f*** out of here you f****** dream-selling b****.
“I get emotional because I love my f****** sport and I represent my f****** sport. ... Who is this idiot to call me out in MMA?”
Outside of the issue of disrespect, Masvidal also notes that the PFL part of things is a total nonstarter. The UFC is allowing him to box Nate Diaz, but there’s no chance that magnanimity would extend to a rival MMA promotion.
“I’m signed to the UFC,” Masvidal said. “Under no circumstances is the UFC going to say, ‘Here’s one of our top draws, PFL. Take him.’
“Of course! I can’t go to the PFL. I can’t go to no other MMA organization. Nate can do whatever the f*** he wants, but me, I’m still signed to the UFC. I still owe them fights. I retired and they said, ‘We love you, you’ve done so much for the company, you want to go box? We’ll let you go do your thing, make your money.’ But obviously I can’t go fight for another company and make that company blow up. There’s no way I could be in PFL. There would be no way they’d let me go do that.”
Paul has other fish to fry at the moment anyway. The YouTuber turned boxer will face Mike Tyson in a boxing match on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., in an event that will be streamed live on Netflix. It’s a big moment for Paul as despite his age (Tyson will be 58 come fight night), Tyson is a former heavyweight world champion. And despite his issues with some of Paul’s behavior, Masvidal actually thinks “The Problem Child” will win.
“Tyson is old, man,” Masvidal said. “And Father Time is not good to anybody, especially combat athletes. He’s put in so many [rounds], he’s been getting hit by heavyweights his whole life. So I don’t know who much of Tyson is left. And I don’t dislike Jake on a personal level like with Colby. I actually like his story because he shared his story before with me about how he got into boxing and the discipline of boxing is what got him out of the evils of Hollywood and all that stuff, the life he was living. So I give it up to him, but don’t get ahead of yourself and call me out in MMA, because you know you’re not going to do that ever in your life. Ever.”
