Jake Paul is receiving private messages from top UFC fighters supporting him after he dropped an outlandish 'diss track' on the promotion's president Dana White.
Paul trended at No.1 for music after his song, which featured cameos from MMA legends Cris Cyborg and Antonio McKee, garnered over 2.3million views within five days.
And despite many fighters opting to keep their opinions on the song, which also featured mocking bars about Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor, private, Paul insists there is support from a certain subset.
Paul, a YouTuber and Disney Channel star before making the switch into boxing in 2020, has become one of the most divisive figures in combat sports as he has accrued a record of 5-0 with four KOs.
But when host Ariel Helwani mentioned that he was receiving private messages of support from fighters for Paul's song during an episode of The MMA Hour last night, the social media star said he was getting similar.
“I don’t want them to sacrifice,” Paul said, explaining that he understands why they wouldn't make their views public.
“They have to put food on their family’s table - I happen to have a platform to be able to do this.
"So I accept the responsibility and I’m going to do it, I’ve made that decision, I’m going to war and I’m not backing down no matter what happens.
"I don’t need the fighters in the UFC to support this - behind the scenes, it would be great for them to support it and talk about it and push for these movements."
And Paul's next step, he believes, should be to help create a fighters' union to help both boxers and those in MMA to be given better conditions.
A short-lived effort was made in 2016 when Georges St-Pierre joined former world champions TJ Dillashaw and Cain Velasquez amongst others to attempt to form an association to help fighters.
But it fell by the wayside within weeks, and the division appears as deep as ever between fighters as promoters continue their standard practices.
However, Paul understands that despite singing the line "everybody from the UFC, put your motherf***in' hands up and follow me", some fighters must remain quiet.
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"Obviously if there’s a fighters’ union created, everyone in the UFC should join it to create power and to create a better position for themselves and a better life for themselves," Paul continued.
"But I don’t need them to support a diss track or anything like that publicly, because they’re just going to f*** themselves over, and I don’t want that - I want them to win and make more money.
“I’m not letting off the gas any time soon, and I’ve spent a bunch of my own money on this matter and pushing for these things.
“I wake up everyday with a purpose on my mind and I think I’ve done more than enough to show for women’s boxing, fighter pay, equality, fighters, boxing promoters — I’ve done more than enough in terms of actions."
Paul has called on top fighters like Canelo Alvarez to join him in the battle for improved fighter pay, which he took to a new level with his song towards White.
It came just days after Paul confirmed that his Venture Capital Fund 'Anti-Fund' had invested a 'low six-figure' sum into the promotion's parent company Endeavor.
