After his win over Nate Diaz, Jake Paul took to Twitter to engage in a little argument with Conor McGregor. The former ‘double-champ’ of the UFC hasn’t been in an Octagon since losing twice against Dustin Poirier in 2021, and now appears to have risen to the bait that Paul has laid out for him over the last few years.
The YouTube star turned boxer accused McGregor of doing drugs in now deleted tweets, while the Irishman hit back at Paul’s thinning hairline. It was the classic pettiness you expect from social media between two men who know how to drum up a fight almost better than anybody else on planet earth.
For all of Paul’s flaws, he has a huge audience that hangs on his every move. He’s made waves in boxing, and although it may rile up the traditionalists, he’s a global superstar. It doesn’t really matter that he lost his only test against an actual boxer in the form of Tommy Fury, he still retains that ability to bring in viewers and make a shedload of money in the process.
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Which brings us to McGregor. The Irishman has lost his way in recent years, stepping away from combat sports to focus on other areas of life, including business. He’s also embraced the party lifestyle with which he became so synonymous away from sport, and it's fair to say his star has dimmed in recent times.
He’s no longer the lightweight and featherweight champion of the world who thrilled us all with his performances against Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez. He’s not been that fighter for some time, with that Alvarez bout coming way back in 2016. But he still is a relevant celebrity in the combat world, and that’s what makes him the perfect target for Paul.
Remember how much interest there was in McGregor's only professional boxing bout to date, when he took on Floyd Mayweather as the American legend secured the 50th win of his career? The fight itself may have turned into a slightly one-sided affair, but the build-up to it was absolutely phenomenal, with McGregor more than playing his part in a fight that had over five millions pay-per-view buys.
He’s never going to win a world title again in the UFC, just as Jake Paul is never going to win a world title in the ring. But there is this seemingly perfect match-up that draws intrigue and would earn the duo a pretty penny in the process. For Paul, it marks another winnable fight against a former UFC fighter and the biggest name he could beat in recent MMA history.
He has to stay away from fighting boxers for as long as possible and after the Fury beating, he is smart enough to do so. Another defeat against a boxer of any calibre will permanently knock him off course and likely end all ambitions he has of becoming a world champion.
McGregor might not have much to gain, but he could see this as an easy win but against Mayweather he showed some level of boxing ability, and he’d surely love to box Paul’s head off. It would also make the Irishman relevant again, as blunt as that sounds. Currently he’s lurching from scandal to disaster, and needs something to get him back on track.
Perhaps targeting his energy back into training for a winnable fight would allow him to get away from the nonsense that has soured his legacy in recent years. The sexual assault allegations from June this year will have to be cleared before any plans for a fighting return can be take place, but this could a route back into the ring for McGregor.
Plus, it could be a fairly well-matched ‘influencer’ fight that we’d actually love to see. Whether the trash-talking materialises into any more than that, still remains to be seen.
