Dana White has questioned why Jake Paul is fighting Hasim Rahman Jr after the latter lost his most-recent bout.
Paul was set to face Tommy Fury at the second time of asking, but the fight collapsed after the British star was prevented from entering the US. Having given up on his plan to wait for the fight, Paul elected to take on late replacement Rahman Jr at Madison Square Garden on August 6.
Paul and UFC president White have gone back and forth on multiple occasions in their bitter feud over a variety of issues, including the YouTuber's short boxing career. In the latest development, White has reignited their war of words, claiming that Paul should have chased James Mckenzie Morrison, who knocked out Rahman Jr in his last fight.
"[Rahman Jr] just got knocked out, why not go after the guy who knocked him out?," White said during a post-fight press conference on Saturday night. White has frequently dismissed the rising profile of Paul, who is generating huge interest in his fledgling boxing career.
Paul has made it his personal ambition to campaign against White in favour of a review of UFC fighter pay, which has caused huge friction between the pair. The YouTube star has also been heavily outspoken about the healthcare and overall structure of the UFC, recently claiming boxing has overtaken the promotion this year.
The YouTube star also made a 'diss track' aimed at White and a number of his fighters, including Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. White and Paul have traded verbal jabs on social media for several months, with the latter making multiple offers to the UFC kingpin in a bid to fight some of the promotion's top fighters.
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He has also expressed his interest in fighting in the UFC and has begun training MMA, with other labels making offers to the YouTube star, including Bellator. White was previously intrigued by the possibility of letting his rival fight on his roster, before now dismissing the prospect, claiming it is the last thing on his mind.
Paul will now face Rahman Jr, who has won 12 of his 13 fights and is the YouTuber's first opponent with a natural background in boxing. Despite missing out on the opportunity to settle his differences with Fury, Paul believes a meeting with Rahman Jr was deemed more difficult after failing to secure an MMA-based opponent.
"They drove it a lot," Paul told Morning Kombat of the New York Athletic Commission's involvement in choosing his opponent once Fury pulled out due to visa issues. "There were certain names that they wouldn't approve, mostly MMA fighters. Then we were like 'alright we need a professional boxer'.
"But it sort of reversed because they were like 'we don't know if we're going to approve Jake for this'. They were just like everyone, this is a high-risk fight. This is insane, this is psychotic, no boxer is taking chances like this as early on in their career."
