“I Don’t Think They Could Compete” With Netflix

Jake Paul says the UFC skipped a chance to go head-to-head with his promotion’s debut MMA card on Netflix this Saturday. He figures they saw the lineup and backed off. The event pulls in big names like Ronda Rousey against Gina Carano in the main fight at featherweight, 145 pounds, set for five five-minute rounds in a cage with four-ounce gloves.

MVP’s card at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles starts prelims at 6 p.m. ET on Tudum and YouTube, main card at 9 p.m. ET live on Netflix. Nate Diaz takes on Mike Perry at welterweight, 170 pounds. Francis Ngannou faces Philipe Lins at heavyweight, 265 pounds limit. Other bouts include Salahdine Parnasse versus Kenneth Cross at lightweight, Junior dos Santos against Robelis Despaigne at heavyweight, plus fights with Jason Jackson, Aline Pereira, and more on the undercard.

Jake Paul praises MVP MMA lineup, says UFC chose not to compete: “You wouldn’t want to”

Paul spoke on Ariel Helwani’s show this week. He pointed out the UFC ran a Fight Night the same day, May 16, with Arnold Allen versus Melquizael Costa headlining at the Apex in Las Vegas on Paramount+.

“You wouldn’t want to compete with this show, and I don’t think they could,” Paul said. He compared it to the UFC’s bigger Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House, headlined by Ilia Topuria against Justin Gaethje for lightweight title unification, with Alex Pereira facing Ciryl Gane in co-main.

Back in 2009, EliteXC put Fedor Emelianenko on CBS against Brett Rogers. UFC aired Anderson Silva’s win over Forrest Griffin from UFC 101, plus Vitor Belfort versus Rich Franklin and B.J. Penn against Kenny Florian, all on Spike TV at the same time. That move pulled eyes from the rival. Paul sees his Netflix push as a shift, with MVP entering MMA after boxing events like his fight with Mike Tyson. Additionally, the UFC put Anderson Silva on Spike TV to counterprogram the first Affliction event.

UFC stuck to its Apex plan for May 16, a standard Fight Night card with matchups like Choi Doo-ho versus Daniel Santos and Ketlen Vieira against Jacqueline Cavalcanti. Dana White has shrugged off Paul before, saying he did not know about MVP fights. Paul claims White seems checked out, focused on his own life as a billionaire. No direct UFC response hit on Paul’s latest words.

Rousey, ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champ, called the UFC one of the worst spots for pay during promo. Carano pioneered women’s MMA before acting. Netflix steps in with its first live MMA broadcast, while UFC holds Paramount deals. Paul has bashed UFC fighter pay and matchmaking in pressers.