Logan Paul’s status as a WWE superstar may place him under the same TKO corporate umbrella as the UFC, but UFC CEO Dana White seems uninterested in taking advantage of Paul’s star power. Paul shared on a recent episode of his “Impaulsive” podcast that White didn’t return his calls about stepping into the Octagon.
“I told Dana for UFC 300, I texted him, ‘Hey man, consider me available to fight on the undercard in the Sphere,'” Paul said. “Basically, [he] completely ignored me, which I think speaks volumes. I haven’t bothered him about it since.”
UFC 300 was one of the biggest events in recent company history, but it was UFC 306 that was held in the Sphere. UFC 306 was the first live sporting event held inside Las Vegas’ Sphere and the promotion treated it as a massive event but clearly didn’t see a benefit to bringing in Paul for his first mixed martial arts bout.
Paul placed the blame for White not returning his text on the failure of another current WWE star, citing CM Punk’s disastrous UFC career as the likely culprit.
“He f—ed it up,” Paul said about Punk. “He f—ed it up, and after that Dana was like, ‘I’m never doing this again.’ But, dude, I’m not CM Punk. He’s a great wrestler, not a UFC fighter. I think I would be a much better UFC fighter than I would be as just a boxer. My skill is wrestling. I’m a wrestler.”
Punk fought twice in the UFC, suffering a submission loss to Mickey Gall and then a decision loss to Mike Jackson. The loss to Jackson was later overturned after it was announced that Jackson had failed a drug test due to the presence of marijuana metabolites.
Paul has some experience in the combat sports world, having boxed fellow social media influencer KSI, MMA fighter Dillon Danis and an exhibition with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Paul was also a good amateur wrestler in high school, qualifying for the Ohio High School Athletic Association 2013 Division I wrestling championships.
Paul will have to remain content with his WWE career, where he has impressed with sheer athleticism and personality.
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