“You Wanted to Pressure Him”- Stephen Thompson Gets Relief From Jake Paul After Boxer Trashes $500M Worth Dana White for Rejecting UFC Star’s Payday Request After UFC 291

Jake Paul beat another UFC fighter in his bout against Nate Diaz last week. To his credit, Nate was neither retired nor had he been inactive, unlike most other UFC fighters Paul has fought. Paul came out swinging in the first round and even managed to knockdown Diaz in the fifth round. But, as the fight progressed, Diaz closed the gap, as Paul seemed visibly gassed. It went to the judges’ scorecard where Paul emerged victorious in a unanimous decision.

Interestingly, Dana White was asked about his thoughts on the fight in a press conference. The UFC boss has an ongoing feud with Paul as The boxer hammers White on the issue of fighter pay in the UFC every chance he gets. The UFC boss gave his verdict on the bout, which prompted a stinging rejoinder from the former Disney star.

Dana White praises Nate Diaz’s performance against Jake Paul

Dana White started off by praising the Diaz brothers and called them “iconic fighters that years from now everybody will remember and talk about”. He pointed out that Nate had grown up in the UFC, having appeared on The Ultimate Fighter, and gone on to be part of some of the biggest fights in UFC history.

He felt Nate had performed best of all three former UFC fighters- Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva – who have fought Paul. White was impressed with Nate going up four boxing divisions and still managing to take ‘The Problem Child’ all the way.

Read More – “That’s Why His Brother Wants a Shot Now”: Fans in Frenzy After Nate Diaz Makes “15 Times” His UFC Career Earnings for Jake Paul Fight “Without Having Both Eyes Busted Open”

“For a kid pushing 40 years old fighting a guy four weight-classes bigger than him in boxing and two in MMA. And going the distance at his age against the 20-something-year-old kid. so far he’s fared the best you know… I’m happy for him,” he told reporters.

Jake Paul advises Dana White to pay ‘Wonderboy’

Paul tweeted this clip of White’s press conference and told him to concentrate on paying Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, instead. In the caption with the video, he wrote: “Focus on taking care of @WonderboyMMA  purse. He’s pushing 41, you matched him against a 28 year old who totally disregarded the weight and you wanted to pressure him to fight”.

Thompson was scheduled to fight Michel Pereira at UFC 291. However, the 40-year-old pulled out of the bout after his opponent missed weight by three pounds. He has not received his show money, which fighters get for showing up and making weight. White addressed the issue in the same press conference, and claimed it was being worked out behind the scenes.

“You come in and you don’t fight – first of all, you decided not to fight. The guy was three pounds overweight… We also offered him another fight,” he said.

“We always make sure that we take care of everybody, and we’re working it out with ‘Wonderboy’ right now. It’s all being worked out behind the scenes, and this should all be worked out by Saturday,” White added.

Dana White and the UFC’s handling of the ‘Wonderboy’ purse situation has opened the promotion to criticisms over paying fighters fairly. In addition, it is difficult to fathom why Thompson has not been paid his show money after meeting his obligations. Consequently, he was under no compulsion to fight an overweight Pereira or for that matter, any other fighter after Pereira missed weight. It would seem almost like the American is being punished for his opponent’s mistake. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

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