YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul donated $5,000 to UFC flyweight Sarah Alpar through her GoFundMe page on Wednesday, something that left the 30-year-old fighter in shock.
SMH… Imagine a rookie in the NBA had to start a GoFundMe to play..
I let Sarah @TOOSWEET_Alpar know she has my support and contribution
It’s my honor and privilege to help fellow fighters in anyway I can🙏🏼https://t.co/XvDHOwoN6Q
— Paul Paul (@jakepaul) June 30, 2021
That quickly prompted Triller Fight Club, Paul’s old promoter, and others to donate to her campaign as well — which raised over her goal of $30,000.
Sarah Alpar:
“I got this message and it was this person that I saw a little check mark, and it said, ‘Jake Paul sent you a message,’” Alpar said, via MMA Fighting. “I was like, ‘What? You know my existence?’”
Alpar, a former LFA bantamweight champion, landed a UFC contract in 2019. She made her debut in September, but lost to Jessica-Rose Clark. She’s next set to fight Erin Blanchfield on Sept. 18. Alpar was set to take on Stephanie Egger earlier this year, but that bout was canceled due to COVID-19.
If you look at Alpar’s GoFundMe page, you can see how much Jake donated to her. Respect. https://t.co/bbGJ6Nrpu8 https://t.co/xZxseIiJc2
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 30, 2021
While she made it to the UFC after a successful “Contender Series” run, Alpar struggled financially and realized that she needed help if she wanted to train full time. The 30-year-old’s part-time job at Starbucks and teaching jiu-jitsu lessons wasn’t cutting it.
So, on Friday, she launched her GoFundMe campaign:
‘I turned 30, and I don’t know, it was a midlife crisis moment? Who knows what the reason was, but I was like, I need to make this happen,” she said, via MMA Fighting. “I’m not getting any younger. What do I need to do?”
Paul, who has slammed UFC president Dana White over the company’s practices of paying their fighters, again took a shot at the UFC when he announced his donation to Alpar on Twitter.
“SMH … Imagine a rookie in the NBA had to start a GoFundMe to play,” he wrote, in part.
so happy to see Sarah hit her goal🙏🏼@TOOSWEET_Alpar pic.twitter.com/p7tb6RwbX9
— Paul Paul (@jakepaul) June 30, 2021
Triller then followed suit, and said in a statement that “the UFC is not paying her enough to support herself and train.”
“We are honored to help Sarah as she continues her march towards becoming a world champion,” Triller’s chief boxing officer Peter Kahn said in a statement. “Sarah and many underpaid UFC fighters are starting at a disadvantage when they have to work other jobs while putting their bodies and brains through the most rigorous training one could imagine. It’s sad to see such talented fighters making less than the UFC ring/round card girls.”