Malignaggi Hits Out At MMA Fans – ‘Not That Intelligent'

Paulie Malignaggi has labeled MMA fans as “not that intelligent” for their indifference toward cross-promotional fights.

Malignaggi used the sport’s inability to match top champions from different organizations as his evidence for this. Paulie argued that an intelligent fan base would demand the unification of titles across promotions—a standard practice in boxing. However, Dana White has consistently stated his lack of interest in co-promoting major events, notably blocking a mega-fight between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou (now with the PFL) and Jon Jones, who has fought under the UFC. The PFL has repeatedly expressed a strong desire to make the Ngannou vs. Jones fight, but White is not keen, as Paulie had this to say.

"MMA fans are not that intelligent. I’ve said that over and over again. I’m gonna give you an example of why they’re so stupid… If a fan had any level of intelligence past the point of being r——-, they would say ‘Wow, I want to watch the fighter who is the champion at one promotion against the other champion who is in the same weight’.

"I want to see what that looks like! Just like we do in boxing…[MMA fans] don’t ask for it, because they’re too stupid to know it’s possible. “They don’t want to see the PFL champion, or ONE champion, against the UFC champion. Why wouldn’t you want to see who the best in the world is? In boxing, we want to see that," Malignaggi said

Malignaggi correctly points out that in boxing title unification between champions from different sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO) is the standard. However, MMA has a single, dominant league—the UFC—which operates more like the NFL or NBA. The UFC has signed the vast majority of elite talent, making fights with champions from rival promotions like the PFL or Bellator nearly irrelevant to the average UFC consumer. 

However, the prospect of a Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight offers a different perspective. The fight transcended promotional loyalty and became the single most demanded heavyweight bout in combat sports. Dana White was against the fight when Ngannou left the UFC, despite the PFL repeatedly expressing interest, which suggests that the promotional landscape was the issue.

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