Demetrious Johnson Praises ‘Full-Time Athletes’ Logan Paul & Jake Paul
Demetrious Johnson won’t hate on the likes of Logan Paul and Jake Paul who have recently been making noise and a lot of money by crossing over into the combat sports world.
Logan Paul recently went eight rounds with Floyd Mayweather and reportedly made an eye-watering $20 million despite being a novice boxer.
Jake Paul is three fights into his perfect professional career. The 24-year-old holds highlight-reel KO wins over former NBA player, Nate Robinson and two-time MMA champion, Ben Askren. Paul is set for his fourth professional fight on August 28, he’ll take on former UFC champion, Tyron Woodley, live on Showtime pay-per-view.
The influx of internet celebrities to the combat sports world hasn’t sat well with a lot of fans and fighters. Johnson insists he’s not one of the detractors as the Paul Brothers are training harder than some professional athletes.
“When you have unlimited money, when you have millions of dollars and you don’t have to do a 9-5 job, you have the best access to the trainers, you have the best access to nutrition, you train for eight weeks for somebody, you are gonna become the product of something,” Johnson said in an interview courtesy of ONE Championship. “So people think that Jake Paul, Logan Paul, they just got off the couch playing video games, that’s not the f*cking case. These guys are training like full-time athletes. These guys train better than some of the professional athletes that have been in the game for five or 10 years.”
“I support the YouTubers, the TikTokers and the thing is, at the end of the day it’s about making money,” Johnson added “Those guys have such a big following and a lot of the athletes complain how Jake Paul, Logan Paul, those guys are making million-dollar paydays and us athletes have been in this sport for years and will never see a payday like that. The reality is your brand and your likeness or your following is what sells, and I’ve learned that from when I was in a North-America-based promotion and it’s proven to this day.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)
Do you agree with Demetrious Johnson? Should we respect Logan Paul & Jake Paul as long as they train properly for their fights?
