Paulie Malignaggi didn’t hold back in expressing his opinion on Mixed Martial Arts fans.

Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts are undoubtedly two of the most popular combat sports in the world today. While boxing has more of a history encapsulated with it than MMA, the UFC’s monstrous rise has garnered a larger audience than most boxing events.

The two sports have developed a rivalry in recent years. Several high-profile boxing promoters, most notably Bob Arum, have blasted MMA for its brutality.

One of boxing’s top analysts took things a step further in his assessment of MMA’s following.

Paulie Malignaggi blasts ‘stupid’ MMA fans for not demanding cross-promotion fights

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Paulie Malignaggi went off on the MMA fanbase.

“MMA fans are not that intelligent,” Malignaggi said. “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.”

UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly said he’s not interested in co-promoting MMA fights, including a potential showdown between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. The PFL has expressed profound interest in making the Jones vs. Ngannou fight come to fruition.

Malignaggi was a key presence in the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather buildup in 2017. After sparring footage between Malignaggi and McGregor went viral, the two former sparring partners ignited a heated feud that resulted in several near-brawls during the global media tour.