Anthony Taylor Says Sparring Jake Paul Paid More Than MMA Career
Anthony Taylor says he made more money sparring Jake Paul for two months than he did in his entire 12-fight MMA career.
The Bellator veteran has been working with Paul in the lead-up to his fight against Tyron Woodley. Despite fighting five times for the Viacom owned organization – facing some of their top prospects in James Gallagher and Adam Borics – Taylor told Betway Insider that the money Paul offered him far exceeded any purse he has received in his career (H/T Bloody Elbow).
“I had the opportunity to fight in Cage Warriors but I couldn’t pass up the money Jake was offering,” Taylor said. “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,” Taylor continued. “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.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Paul offer fighters up large sums of cash. The YouTube star has frequently gone after Dana White and the UFC for what he perceives as low fighter pay. He even infamously donated $5,000 to Sarah Alpar to help her train for a training camp ahead of her UFC bout.
As for Taylor, after starting his MMA career 2-5, he has since won five straight, including returning to Bellator and defeating Diaz Bros. protégé Chris Avila. His next bout will also be in the squared circle, as he takes on Tommy Fury on the undercard of Paul-Woodley. Fury is a former reality star who has built up a 6-0 boxing record and has his sights set on a match against the younger Paul brother.
“I’m about to bloody him up. He’s going to be in a dog fight,” ‘Pretty Boy’ 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.”
Do you believe that Jake Paul actually paid Anthony Taylor that much money?
