When Dricus du Plessis defended Jake Paul against critics while admitting to feelings of "jealousy"

Fresh after capturing the UFC middleweight title last year, Dricus du Plessis spoke up in defense of Jake Paul. Du Plessis even admitted to being envious of 'The Problem Child,' despite the latter being a fixture in influencer boxing, while he stood on the mountain-top of middleweight MMA.

The South African took exception to Paul's detractors, those who criticize his boxing skills and dismiss his legitimacy as a fighter. Unlike many of his contemporaries in MMA, 'Stillknocks' chose to praise Paul for his accomplishments as a boxer, saying on the Shadow Banned podcast:

"My man's making money. That's what I respect. He is fighting, he's getting better every fight. He is getting better. He's not a sh*t boxer, make no mistake. But take the route that you need to be taking. To hate him for no reason, it's uncool. To hate the fact that he's getting paid more than all the other fighters, call it jealousy if you will, and there's a part of me that probably is, I just know if we had to box each other, it wouldn't be a fight."

Check out Dricus du Plessis praising Jake Paul below (59:03):

Paul has done well for himself in the world of influencer boxing. He has only ever lost once, and it was to Tommy Fury in a fairly competitive fight. Meanwhile, du Plessis has since gone on to defend his middleweight title twice, submitting Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 and beating Sean Strickland in their UFC 312 rematch.

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Dricus du Plessis isn't the only fighter to praise Jake Paul

One of Dricus du Plessis' former opponents, Darren Till, recently defended Jake Paul. In an interview with MMA Fighting, Till blasted those who refuse to acknowledge Paul as a fighter. He said:

"For starters, let's all just stop being dummies for a second and take out the narrative that Jake Paul's not a fighter or a boxer. He's been boxing for years now. He's been boxing for years with a fully equipped team around him 24/7. Jake Paul is a fighter. He's a boxer. He's a fighter."

Check out Darren Till defending Jake Paul below (7:16):

Till, curiously, has stepped into Paul's world of influencer boxing, and is currently 2-0 and seeking a matchup with KSI, though he has also called out the likes of Mike Perry and Jorge Masvidal.