“He helps all of us as MMA fighters”

Octagon icon Randy Couture is a fan of what Jake Paul is trying to do for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Couture is one of the most recognizable names in MMA, having won the UFC’s heavyweight title three times and the promotion’s light heavyweight crown twice during his legendary 14-year career.

But despite his long and respected history with the UFC, the Hall of Famer isn’t particularly thrilled with the way his former employer does business these days.

Recently, “The Natural” criticized the UFC for abusing its power to bypass its own ranking system in favor of high-stakes duels and crowning unnecessary interim champions.

“Why is there an interim championship in the first place? Because it sells well and gets the attention of the fans,” Couture told Dylan Bowker in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA. “They don’t use the existing rankings, they constantly bypass them… It’s all a lack of transparency. It’s way too much power for a promoter to organize fights and rate the same fighters that are going to win those fights.”“

Couture also praised his current employer, the Professional Fighters League, for sticking to a regular season, playoffs and championship sports format without interference from executives with ulterior motives.

Couture didn’t stop there and praised YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul for attempting to draw more attention to the UFC’s questionable fighting ethics through his own prizefighting efforts.

“One of the reasons I love the PFL model is their true sports format with a regular season, playoffs and championship every year… While it’s not the traditional prizefighting model, it makes a lot more sense… I’m glad Jake Paul is highlighting that through these crossover boxing matches.”

Randy Couture may be overlooking some important facts with his praise for Jake Paul and the PFL

‘The Natural’ must have forgotten the time when the PFL pulled Natan Schulte from the playoffs in 2022 after he defeated Raush Manfio because the fight “did not meet the standards that all PFL fighters are required to adhere to in competition.”

As for Jake Paul, Couture seems to completely neglect the fact that the 27-year-old professional boxer made a name for himself by competing against hand-picked former MMA stars who are long past their expiration date.

Even when he’s competing against another active boxer, “The Problem Child” tends to go for fighters who are 20 to 30 pounds heavier on the night of the fight. This was also the case in his last appearance against the pugilist “Platinum” Mike Perry, who had never participated in a traditional boxing match until that evening.