Say what you want about Jake Paul, but he certainly knows how to create a buzz by getting under people’s skin.
While Paul wasn’t on the UFC 261 card last weekend, he was responsible for several highlights during the pay-per-view event in Jacksonville. Included was a confrontation with UFC legend Daniel Cormier, who clearly took exception with what the YouTube star was saying.
During Monday’s edition of ESPN’s “DC & Helwani” show, Cormier pulled back the curtain on his encounter with Paul.
“He’s like making faces at me and waving at me,” Cormier said, as transcribed by MMA Junkie. “I’m like, what in the world is happening? What is happening? … This 24-year-old kid is heckling me. He’s heckling me. He’s like a troll but like a famous troll.”
Cormier, who was on the call for ESPN last Saturday, went as far as requesting a two-minute break from the broadcast so that he could step aside to confront Paul.
“So I just walk over there, and he kind of leans in like we’re gonna have a conversation, and his hands are in his pocket,” Cormier recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna play your games. I go, ‘Don’t mess with me. I’m not a kid to play with like this. I’m not gonna be on the internet messing around and all this other stuff.’ I go, ‘Keep my name out of your mouth.’ Once the security and everybody got around, he started to play big boy a little bit, starts trying to point and do all that. But initially his hands are in his pocket and he kind of leans in.
“I said, ‘I’m not gonna play your game.’ I said, ‘You’re gonna get yourself hurt messing around. I’m not gonna fight with you and play these public shenanigans.’ I go, ‘Keep my name out of your mouth.’ He goes, ‘Well, you said my name first.’ Don’t play with me. I’m not a kid to be messing with like that.”
While Cormier claims he’s not going to play Paul’s game, he did exactly that by getting in the face of the 24-year-old in front of a worldwide audience. So if he’s not going to fight Paul, the best way Cormier can stick it to the up-and-coming boxer is by acting like he doesn’t exist.
