Jake Paul has again called for a fight with UFC legend Conor McGregor after he takes on the Irishman's greatest octagon rival Nate Diaz next month.
The social media star, who has transitioned into a 6-1 professional boxer, will take on Diaz in Dallas, Texas on August 5 and is already looking at his next challenge, with a number of big names on his shortlist. McGregor is the biggest name he has mentioned as a possible opponent, but could also rematch Tommy Fury.
Paul was defeated in his last outing, a February showdown with Fury in Saudi Arabia, but dropped the Brit towards the end of a competitive affair. He had defeated Anderson Silva, who was 3-1 including a win over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, but Fury was considered his first test against a legitimate boxer.
Speaking with TalkSPORT Drive yesterday, Paul explained that he has a number of options, saying: "As far as my personal career, there's so many fighters. We have offers out to Fury [for the rematch], we've been trying to do the KSI negotiations for years. But when I knock out Diaz, I think McGregor's going to see me, want a payday, and come and get knocked out."
Paul even offered to get into McGregor's sport, having recently signed with the PFL for his debut in the smart cage likely next year. "Either one," he replied when asked which discipline they would compete under. "We can fight in the PFL smart cage, whatever it is. I told everybody that I would fight Conor in any form of fight because he, in my opinion, is that shot.
"I'll do MMA, I'm not afraid to step in there. I've wanted to do that my whole career. I'm a wrestler, I've got a wrestling background, so all I'd have to learn is some jiu-jitsu and some kicks, which seems pretty easy to me."
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The Irishman has infamously opted to avoid acknowledging Paul, branding him a "donkey" in a recent interview and shutting down a question about the American while speaking to Mirror Fighting. However, he has backed Diaz to beat his rival, and is keen to do the trilogy in future.
"I fancy him for it," McGregor said in an interview back in May, which was broadcast on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel as part of the promotion for Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron. "The other cat's a bit windy. He's a donkey that guy, the other cat, but a donkey has kick, so you've got to be weary of that. But Nate will be peppering him, he'll hit his face in and it will be Nate.
“I spent, how many minutes did I spend in the octagon with him? 40 minutes, over half an hour. Around 40 minutes inside the cage with the lad, it’s always going to be respect off of that. And he gave the rematch instantly. That’s commendable, that’s real warrior stuff. So, for sure, I’m happy to see that respect.”
