Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) hosted a major MMA event on Saturday night featuring several former UFC stars, including Ronda Rousey, Nate Diaz, and Francis Ngannou.
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Ngannou was third-to-last on the main card and defeated Philipe Lins via first-round knockout. However, much of the attention surrounding the fight shifted after Dana White went live on Instagram during Ngannou’s walkout to announce the return of Conor McGregor, who is set to face Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11.
The timing of the announcement, given McGregor’s star power, was viewed by some as a slight toward Paul’s growing combat sports promotion, which he believes could eventually rival the UFC.
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“A lot of people think that I hate the UFC… I’m an MMA fan,” Paul said. “I grew up watching the UFC… but I think the whole landscape is going to change… There can be prestigious fights elsewhere.”
He added that he does not believe White is worried about his promotion but criticized the timing of the announcement during Ngannou’s fight.
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“That just shows you how pressed they are,” Paul said. “Little insecure boys trying to piggyback off our event.”
While White may have done it for competitive reasons against a rival promotion, he has also previously shown frustration specifically toward Ngannou, who was formerly a UFC champion. White has even referred to him as a “bad guy.”
“Francis Ngannou is a bad guy. He’s not a good guy,” White said in 2025. “He plays the whole ‘I don’t understand the language’ and tries to come off that he’s a [expletive] nice guy. People go, ‘Oh, it’s the language barrier probably.’ There’s no [expletive] language barrier with this guy. He’s a bad guy.”
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