Jake Paul is once again taking aim at fighter pay in MMA, and this time he’s using one of the biggest names in combat sports history to make his point.
Speaking on the Death Row MMA show alongside Jorge Masvidal, Paul claimed that Ronda Rousey will earn more for her upcoming return bout than current UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria makes competing inside the Octagon.
Rousey is set to headline Netflix’s first MMA card this weekend in Los Angeles against Gina Carano, a matchup that has generated massive attention across the fight world.
See our full predictions for MVP MMA on Netflix here.
Jake Paul compares Rousey payday to UFC champion salaries
Paul did not reveal specific figures during the interview, but he made it clear he believes the gap between MMA promotions is significant.
“Here’s what I can say: I know how much Ronda Rousey is making for this event and it’s a lot more than what Ilia Topuria makes for fighting.”
The timing of the statement raised eyebrows given Topuria’s upcoming title unification fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC White House on June 14.
The event is expected to be one of the UFC’s biggest cards of the year, especially with U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly expected to attend alongside several high-profile guests.
Paul also suggested that fighters lower on the Netflix MMA card are receiving substantially better compensation than athletes in comparable UFC positions.
“Definitely more than the UFC by a lot.”
Jorge Masvidal explains UFC’s pay structure
Masvidal, who retired after losing to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in Miami, agreed that elite fighters deserve higher earnings. At the same time, he defended parts of the UFC’s development system. In the interview, he also weighed in:
“I like the way you see it, but to be honest with you, in fighting, that 12 and 12 or when I was fighting it was, like, 4 and 4, that’s still like [six times] of what you make on the regional side.”
“It’s good money if you do get there, but where we do need a dramatic change is more like when you’re in the top 10, top 15 already.”
Masvidal added that promotions still need to evaluate prospects before handing out major contracts.
“But the guys in the beginning, we’ve got to find out who’s good, because you can’t just be giving out the bag, right, to some dude because he’s 6-0 and then you look at his record and he’s fought nothing but cans.”
Paul says higher pay would improve MMA talent pool
Paul pushed back by arguing that stronger financial support would elevate the overall level of MMA competition.
“I think the difference is it would create better talent and better fighters because they wouldn’t have to be working other jobs in between training sessions.”.
“So that’s the argument back there is it would actually grow the sport in the long run if these people making the minimum pay didn’t have to go be a teacher or a janitor or work for UPS, all of that stuff. It would actually make more talent.”
Masvidal also hinted that discussions regarding his fighting future are ongoing. Though he remains under UFC contract, the former BMF champion teased that a major announcement could arrive once negotiations are finalized.
“No, I’m still with them, we’ve been talking for a little bit,”
“We’re going to say the news I don’t know when, but we’ve got some things we’ve been working on cooking, we’ve just got to wait for some people to sign contracts, but I think we’ve got something big already pretty much locked down.”