Jake Paul’s latest volley in his ongoing war with UFC president Dana White is purely financial. Paul has long derided White and the UFC brass over issues of fighter pay and worker’s rights, and has now invested in Endeavor, the UFC’s parent company, with the intent of fixing the organization “from within”. In a recent Tweet, Paul confirmed the purchase.
“I’ve invested in EDR (UFC) stock with my partner Geoffrey Woo to focus on UFCs ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards relating to fighters. We believe EDR can drive long-term economic value by increasing UFC fighter pay & providing them healthcare. Reaching out to (Engine No. 1 investment group) to partner on this “endeavor”.”
Jake Paul Invests in UFC Parent Company To Fix Fighter Pay “From Within”
Endeavor actually acquired the UFC for $4 billion back in 2016. Because Endeavor is a publicly traded company, Jake Paul and his associates were free to invest, and gain access to shareholder meetings to potentially help shape the future of the entity and its subsidiaries, including the UFC.
In a longer Twitter statement, Paul’s business partner, Geoffrey Woo, explained their approach to the long-standing issue.
“Jake Paul, our partners, and I are excited to announce our latest (Anti Fund Investment Fund) investment — Endeavor (NYSE: EDR), the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship — and our goals for the business as impact investors & venture capitalists.
My partner Jake has lead the way in changing the business of combat sports by not just talking about it, but being about it — fighter pay, healthcare, & championing women’s sport. And today is our next step in our vision of revolutionizing the industry.
UFC has faced a rising chorus of criticism for the exploitation of its athletes — the (heart) of biz. The ratio of revenue going to athletes vs. owners & leagues is well below industry standard. This disparity hurts long-term shareholder value & this is not going to magically change.
Jake is the archetype of the future, where individual transcends the machine. This is happening across all sectors — media, entertainment, & tech start ups where dynamic, innovative individuals & creators are bargaining toe-to-toe w the owners, the institutions, and the academy.
We believe the best way to accelerate this inevitable revolution is to lead it from within the UFC as co-owners & impact investors. We will use our investment stake to rally fans, athletes, fellow shareholders, and management to do the right thing.
Who am I? I come from Silicon Valley & web3/crypto. Skin in the game, shared equity, and long-term alignment is the underlying incentive model that made Silicon Valley and crypto the most impactful business models of the last 20 years. We intend to apply these models to the UFC.
I invite likeminded shareholders, our Board, our largest institutional to the smallest individual owners of EDR / UFC to join Jake, Anti Fund, and I to drive management change to upgrade sport culture, whilst capturing outsized long-term equity value.
It’s not just the right thing to do, but the profitable one.” What do you think of Jake Paul buying into the UFC? Let us know in the comments.
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