No1 UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker has backed Jake Paul’s proposal to Dana White over fighter pay and healthcare.
YouTuber Paul has gone 5-0 as a professional boxer, most recently knocking out Tyron Woodley – having previously outpointed the former UFC champion – and with a knockout of ex-UFC star Ben Askren to his name.
Paul has now told UFC president White that he will retire from boxing and compete against Jorge Masvidal in the mixed martial arts promotion, if White increases the base pay for all his fighters and offers them healthcare.
White refused Paul’s proposal, though Whittaker highlighted the merits in the YouTube star’s plan.
“All the chips are in the company’s playing field. I would certainly love some healthcare,” Whittaker told the Daily Mirror.
“I would love that long-term, post-fighting career security, and I’m sure every fighter would. I would like different things to change.
“But I’m not crying over spilt milk, it is what it is. I’m very blessed to be able to do what I do for a living anyway. Instead of asking for what I don’t have, I’m grateful for what I do have.
“I’m sure [Paul and White] are just using each other’s names to bounce things around. It’s all looking for paydays and it’s all looking for money. At the end of the day, that’s what’s moving the pieces of Dana and Jake Paul, I imagine.
“Whether it builds hype for this or builds attention for that, all media is good media – that kind of thing. Jake Paul is doing his thing, he’s doing well and is making a lot of money.”
Australian Whittaker is a former middleweight champion in the UFC, and he will bid to regain the title from Israel Adesanya in February, having lost the belt to the Nigerian-born New Zealander in late 2019.