Bellator vet says sparring Jake Paul paid better than entire MMA career
Two months training with Jake Paul paid better than six years of fighting MMA?
Jake Paul regularly criticizes Dana White and the UFC for not properly paying their fighters.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer claims he’s going after White to advocate for UFC fighters that can’t speak out, while some think it could all just again be for clout — the best way to do that is to bring facts, after all. Perhaps it’s a good mix of both, but either way, it’s good to see Paul actually supporting MMA fighters financially when it counts.
Apart from Paul perviously making a sizable donation to UFC flyweight Sarah Alpar for her training expenses, he also looks to be paying his training partners really well.
Anthony Taylor, who has fought for Bellator five times, was hired by Paul to be a sparring partner for his bout against Tyron Woodley. He says he was paid more to train for two months, than his combined purses on his 12 MMA bouts.
“I had the opportunity to fight in Cage Warriors but I couldn’t pass up the money Jake was offering,” Taylor told Betway Insider. “I’m getting paid more money as Jake’s training partner in two months than I made in my whole entire MMA career in six years. I swear to god, I made more money with Jake in two months than my whole MMA career.
“That’s disturbing when you think about it, because I fought for Bellator. I’ve fought two top five contenders in Bellator and I had a good run. It’s time to take it up a notch and fight for the UFC.”
Apart from the pay, Taylor also got a spot on the same high profile card. He is set to face Tommy Fury, a former reality show star and 6-0 boxer, who is also trying to get a match up with Paul.
“I’m about to bloody him up. He’s going to be in a dog fight,” he said. “He’s underestimating me, he’s looking over me. He thinks he is flying into Cleveland to win and then face off with Jake, but he ain’t even going to see Jake that night.
“When you compare Tommy’s fights to Jake’s fights, Tommy’s fights are embarrassing,” Taylor said, when asked about the pair of celebrities turned boxers. “Tommy fought a guy with 10 wins and 126 losses - Jake would never fight a guy like that.
“He’s not that skilled. I want what he has; the money, the status, everything.”
Taylor turned pro in 2015, where he lost five of his first seven bouts. He has been on a nice run as of late though, winning five straight bouts, including a win against UFC vet Chris Avila at Bellator 238. Apart from Bellator, he has also fought in various promotions such as BAMMA, Combate and URCC.
Taylor is moving back to boxing, where he only has one professional bout to his name, a four-round split decision loss from 2017.