Since Jake Paul’s introduction to the world of combat sports, one name has exited his mouth during most of his pre-and post-fight speeches – Conor McGregor. This should come as no surprise considering the amount of revenue both men can generate when competing, but what is the likelihood of multiple division UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) champion and record-breaking Irishman accepting a boxing bout with a YouTuber in Jake Paul?
McGregor vs Paul – Risk vs Reward
The current trajectory of Conor McGregor’s professional martial arts career may give the impression that a contest against Jake Paul wouldn’t be out of the question. However, to date, Jake Paul has only boxed against a retired martial artists, fellow YouTubers, and a former basketball professional. Paul’s record stands at 4-0 as a professional boxer, with his most recent victory coming against a former UFC welterweight champion in Tyron Woodley. This was his toughest test to date and his first real challenge. He showed a lot of composure and gained a lot of his peers respect for his ability to withstand a massive right hand from Woodley that almost sent the Youtuber flying through the ropes.
McGregor fighting Jake Paul in a boxing ring doesn’t make sense from a long-term business standpoint outside of a huge money-making opportunity. McGregor risking his well-established martial arts legacy against a blue-collar boxer like Paul could cause detrimental damage to his reputation that may never be recuperated
Jake Paul losing to Conor McGregor wouldn’t affect the YouTubers status whatsoever, but if “The Notorious One” suffered defeat to Jake Paul, he’d become a timeless meme and may never live down this choice.
Jake Paul has tried every trick in the book to bait McGregor into accepting a fight, and his most recent stint includes a brash insult towards the Irishman’s decline. Paul has branded McGregor’s most recent performances as ‘embarrassing’. The insults include a previous $50 million fight offer dropping to $10,000 following a pair of defeats to Dustin Poirier. In addition, Paul infamously had a $100,000 chain designed which resembled McGregor in a sleeping position – which reflected the position McGregor was laying in after a round 2 knockout to Poirier at UFC 257. Adding insult to injury, Paul gifted the custom jewellery to Poirier in which he gladly accepted and donated the proceedings to charity.
As you can tell, Jake Paul is attempting to test the patience of McGregor, who has notably done his best to ignore the ongoing antics and avoid mentioning the name ‘Paul’ in the slightest. Between TMZ bombardments and general media questions, McGregor won’t be found saying a Paul brother’s name, whether it be Logan or Jake. This attitude signals a complete dismissal on McGregor’s behalf, and in reality – a fight with Jake Paul doesn’t match where McGregor’s professional career is currently stood.
Of course, suffering consecutive defeats to Dustin Poirier isn’t ideal, and yes, you’ll find betting odds on a potential McGregor versus Paul matchup. But let’s face facts, a potential fight between the two is 3-4 years out of sight, if at all.
Conor McGregor is a polarizing figure in the martial arts world, and he’s shown zero interest in accepting a boxing contest against anyone besides Manny Pacquiao.
Money holds little motive in McGregor’s life; a flourishing businessman in and outside the combat sports world has placed him as the highest-earning athlete of 2020. Without the need for a paycheque, it’s difficult to envision anybody within the MMA world crossing over to a boxing ring to risk their reputation.
As mentioned, Paul has fought two former UFC competitors, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley – both of which were retired from MMA, aged forty plus, and blatantly sought a comfortable payday. McGregor’s current status is incomparable. Image link HERE.
McGregor vs Paul in The Near Future Just Doesn’t Make Sense
In Jake Pauls world, fighting Conor McGregor would elevate his minor career in every facet of the game. In Conor McGregor’s world, fighting Jake Paul would accomplish absolutely “nuttin”.
Let us ponder on the achievements of McGregor.
- Interim UFC Featherweight Champion (One time)
- UFC Featherweight Champion (One time)
- UFC Lightweight Champion (One time)
- UFC Fight of the Night Award (Two times)
- UFC Knockout of the Night Award (One Time)
- UFC Performance of the Night Award (Seven times)
- The first-ever Irish-born UFC Champion
- The third-ever Multi-Divisional UFC Champion in History (Featherweight, Lightweight)
- The first-ever simultaneous multi-divisional champion in UFC history (Featherweight, Lightweight)
- More consecutive UFC Performance of the Night awards in UFC history (Five)
- Most consecutive post-fight bonuses in UFC history (Eight)
- Second-most UFC Performance of the Night awards in UFC history
- Fastest UFC title-winning fight in UFC history (13 seconds vs. Jose Aldo)
The above achievements are a fraction of what McGregor has accomplished since beginning his professional mixed martial arts journey in 2008. In addition, McGregor is just 33 years old and hasn’t shown any signs of retirement. He made it abundantly clear that fighting Dustin Poirier in a fourth contest was likely, amongst an additional several other bouts/rematches he’s interested in.
The bottom line is, Jake Paul has achieved very little; the risk to reward ratio for an extremely wealthy fighter in McGregor doesn’t heighten his legacy. With that said, we’ve seen stranger things; I just don’t believe that we’d witness this fight take place, or at least not until McGregor is long retired.
