“Things R Getting Worse Unless There’s Change”- Jake Paul Blasts the UFC and as He Blames Fighter Pay for a 46% Decrease in Parent Company Endeavor’s Shares
The issue of fighter pay is something that has plagued the UFC since its early days. The promotion has been under intense scrutiny over fighter compensation, with multiple fighters, both past and present, coming out in public against the UFC.
This has only increased in recent times, with Jake Paul pouring gasoline on an already burning issue. Ever since Paul has started bashing White and the UFC, a host of fighters including champions such as Francis Ngannou have come out and mentioned some of the draconian clauses in their contract which leave them unable to do anything outside the UFC.
Paul, who recently became an investor in the UFC’s parent company put out a tweet bashing the UFC for the fall in the stock price of Endeavor. He said, “-46% happens when u don’t treat employees / fighters fairly. I invested in EDR / UFC in January. Things r getting worse unless there’s change. UFC fighters have never been more powerful, to band together & not fight. It will CRUSH the stock & force UFC to treat fighters betr!”
-46% happens when u don’t treat employees / fighters fairly.
I invested in EDR / UFC in January. Things r getting worse unless there’s change.
UFC fighters have never been more powerful, to band together & not fight. It will CRUSH the stock & force UFC to treat fighters betr! pic.twitter.com/nXlUsEE8zo
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 6, 2022
Endeavor went public in April last year. Their IPO set the share price at $24, the stock touched a record high of $35.28 before it started pummelling down. While Paul believes that it is due to the promotion’s poor treatment of fighters, that might not actually be the case.
Will Dana White and the UFC succumb to external pressure?
Prior to Endeavor’s IPO, the promotion’s financials were a bit of a secret. Now that the UFC’s parent company is a publicly traded company, the promotion is an open book and has to disclose every cent they make, which has further increased the scrutiny on the company.
It is reported the other major leagues such as the NFL, NBA etc split their revenue almost equally with the players. However, the UFC distributes just 16% of their revenue among the athletes. Dana White’s recent comments that boxers are overpaid did not sit well with fans either who bombarded White for his comments.
