Jake Paul believes Conor McGregor is one defeat away from accepting a crossover bout against the YouTube star.
Paul has been pushing for a fight with McGregor over the past few years, but has only recently drawn the attention of the legendary MMA star. The Irishman is one of the most well-known athletes on the planet, and until earlier this year has tended to steer clear of acknowledging either Jake or his brother Logan.
But speaking with Mirror Fighting as he prepares for his return to the octagon later this year, McGregor refused to rule out a future bout with Paul. Asked if his next opponent would be the social media star, he replied "never say never", although he is currently focusing on getting back to fighting in the MMA cage as opposed to Paul's preferred sport of boxing.
"Look, he's a business person and he sees how big of numbers that would do," Paul told Mirror Fighting of McGregor's recent takes on the fight. "And I'm the biggest fight for him in MMA or boxing.
"Biggest name, biggest fight and he's going to want that payday. Especially if he keeps on losing, right? He's going to think 'maybe I'll fight this YouTuber kid' get a W real fast and make a hundred million dollars. So it's getting more and more real as time goes on."
McGregor's take was slightly different, however, mocking Paul for the poor box office performance of his rematch with Tyron Woodley. There was a rumoured buy-rate of just 65,000 for the event, but that has been disputed by the YouTuber, who admits it was not his "best business night".
"I wasn't actually watching it," McGregor said back in February. "It only did a couple of thousand buys, I didn't actually watch it I saw it online so no I didn't see it. I don't pay attention to that stuff."
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The interest in McGregor began in November 2020 when after going 2-0 as a professional, Paul took to social media to begin calling for a fight with the former two-weight world champion. And despite frequently indicating that the bloom is off the rose with McGregor losing twice to Dustin Poirier last year, he is still keen on the match-up.
However, Paul is currently focusing his attentions on promoting the undisputed lightweight world title fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in New York this Saturday. Serrano and Paul began working together last year, and are set to make millions from a sell-out event at Madison Square Garden.
He will then begin training camp for his August ring return, with Tommy Fury and UFC legend Anderson Silva both touted as possible opponents. Fury just defeated Daniel Bocianski at Wembley Stadium, while Silva fights Bruno Machado in Dubai on May 14.
