Boxing

Jake Paul Rips Dana White For Failure To Support Ex-Foe Needing Life-Saving Surgery

Jake Paul called out UFC president Dana White for his inactivity in supporting former UFC fighter Ben Askren.
Grant Young|
Jake Paul is closing in to strike Julio Chavez Jr.'s face at the Honda Center in Anaheim California on June 29th, 2025.
Jake Paul is closing in to strike Julio Chavez Jr.'s face at the Honda Center in Anaheim California on June 29th, 2025. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Jake "The Problem Child" Paul improved his professional boxing record to 12-1 (7 KOs) on June 28, when he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision (99-91, 97-93, and 98-92) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

While Paul called out several potential future opponents after securing this victory, the call-out he made of UFC president Dana White seems to be capturing the most headlines.

Former UFC fighter Ben Askren (who Jake Paul fought in boxing back in April 2021, which Paul won via first-round knockout) is currently in need of a double lung transplant after being hospitalized for having pneumonia combined with a severe staph infection. Askren has been in and out of consciousness, and his wife has been sharing occasional updates about the state of his health.

Many members of the combat sports community have been spreading awareness about what Askren is going through. And after winning Saturday night, Paul announced that he and his brother Logan would be making sizable donations to help fund the double lung transplant surgery Askren will need in order to survive.

And during Paul's post-fight press conference, he called Dana White out for failing to step up and support one of his former fighters.

"It's just insane. Insurance is a f****** scam, and it's so sad. And right when you need these companies, they're not there, and it's f***** up. And his insurance denied him to get the double lung transplant, which is also one of the most expensive surgeries, which is why they denied it. And it just sucks," Paul said, per an X video from MMA Fighting.

"It sucks that no one is doing anything. I was obviously super busy this week, so we're figuring out the donation now. But none of these people, like Dana [White] or anyone, are stepping in. So I feel like I have to do something. And that's really all it is."

To be fair, nobody knows whether Dana White has offered support in any way privately. But Paul doesn't seem to care either way.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.