The entire fighting world was heartbroken when Jake Paul defeated fan-favorite Mike Tyson on November 15th. The result even frustrated Conor McGregor, who lost $1 million on betting on Tyson. In his rage, the Irishman lashed out at ‘The Problem Child,’ and the duo exchanged heated words on social media. Needless to say, the beef between ‘El Gallo’ and ‘Mystic Mac’ began in 2018, with Jake Paul’s foray into boxing.

This online war brewing for a while has fans hoping for a potential matchup between the two combat sports superstars. However, it’s a fight that probably won’t materialize anytime soon. As much as a fight with McGregor will severely boost Jake Paul’s status, financially and legacy-wise, ‘The Notorious’ could also stand to gain from fighting ‘The Problem Child’. But how exactly does fighting ‘The Problem Child’ help ‘The Notorious’? Let’s find out!

Jake Paul vs. Conor McGregor trash talk has been brewing for years

The cauldron of Jake Paul vs. Conor McGregor truly began to boil when the 27-year-old boxer claimed that the Dubliner was smaller and slower than Anderson Silva, who Paul beat via unanimous decision in October 2022. Silva was considered one of the strongest mixed martial artists to have ever existed with a record of 34 victories and 11 losses. Knocking down someone like Silva put the whole combat sports world on notice. His status was further boosted when he faced Mike Perry a few months back and knocked the BKFC champ out in the 6th round of their bout.

Seeing one of his fighters being brutally KO’d like that, part-BKFC owner Conor McGregor was furious with the outcome. In a tweet, he wrote, “Jake Paul is the biggest p—bag I have ever seen in my life.” He criticized the nearly 40 lbs weight difference in the matchup and even declared that he would fire Perry from the BKFC.  But Paul simply responded with, “I said, ‘OK Conor, after I f–k up Mike Perry, then you’re next. So Conor’s on Twitter all the time. He’s on his yacht all the time. Guess where he’s not? In the ring, fighting me.” Once again, he claimed that McGregor was afraid of him.

Cut to the modern day, after Paul defeated 58-year-old Mike Tyson, ‘Mystic Mac’ lost $1 million betting on ‘Iron Mike’ and took to X to unleash his fury on ‘The Problem Child’. He dissed Paul’s habit of taking up fights against old and slow fighters. In his tweet-and-delete rage, McGregor mocked Paul and suggested he face Prichard Colon next.

In response to the Irish MMA star, Jake Paul wrote, “Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170 lbs. That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t.” However, McGregor was ready with yet another tweet and delete attack. He responded with a picture of 82-year-old US Senator Mitch McConnell, claiming that he was the one Paul would fight next. 

But that didn’t steer Paul away. He simply believed that McGregor was ‘owned by Dana White’, saying, “He probably can’t get out of his contract but that’s what he will hide behind because he’s not getting in there.”. This last reply from Paul was indeed a jibe at McGregor’s uncertain UFC comeback.

Conor McGregor’s UFC return looks unlikely soon

The former UFC double champion’s return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 was one of the most anticipated events of 2024. However, a broken pinky toe doused all excitement, McGregor vowing to return in early 2025. Even Dana White refused to talk about it during press conferences. While McGregor wants to return in early 2025, Dana White thinks otherwise. 

After UFC 309 the UFC CEO said, “There is no doubt Conor wants to fight, he hits me up all the time. I told you guys he probably wasn’t going to fight in 2024 and he didn’t. He’s going to fight in 2025, probably at the end of the year, if it is earlier that is good for all of us.”. With the head honcho not sure of McGregor’s return to MMA, his guess is as good as anyone’s at this point.

However, when it comes to fighting Jake Paul, the fighting community believes that McGregor has the power to accomplish what prior opponents of Paul failed to achieve. One thing that McGregor has going for him is his age. Let’s look at some of his other keys to victory.

Conor McGregor can do what Mike Tyson, Nate Diaz, and Anderson Silva couldn’t

‘The Problem Child’ attracted quite some heat when he took on Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Mike Tyson – all either aging veterans or fighters way past their prime. Even though he has 11 victories and just 1 loss, many dismiss him as a boxer for not fighting opponents his age. The one loss on his record came at the hands of Tommy Fury, who is two years younger than ‘The Problem Child’. Seven of Paul’s 11 opponents are either close to or beyond 40 years of age.

However, the same cannot be said for McGregor. Even though he has no wins in the squared ring, his striking skills are well-known to fight fans. After all, he went toe-to-toe for 10 rounds against Floyd Mayweather, considered the greatest boxer of our era. Even though the bout resulted in McGregor facing defeat, his boxing skills were on display, putting Mayweather on the back foot for the first half of their fight.

With his age still on his side, Conor McGregor definitely has an edge over Paul’s past opponents, given his incredible striking prowess, and experience fighting the best boxer in the world. McGregor spent a fair amount of time training within the limited ruleset of boxing, so foraying into a Jake Paul fight wouldn’t require too much technical and mental prep.

At the end of the day, McGregor should ideally fight out his contract if he wants to fight Jake Paul, either in boxing, MMA or even BKFC. As of now, MMA is out of the question since Jake Paul signed with the UFC’s biggest rival, i.e., the Professional Fighters League (PFL).

McGregor vs. Paul might be the first big step for the Irishman’s free agency

McGregor still has 2 fights left in his UFC contract. While Dana White has repeatedly refused to partner with PFL, the only way McGregor can fight Paul is after fulfilling his UFC contract. McGregor seems eager to get done with his two UFC fights, and said the following to Ariel Helwani, “I must [get two fights in 2025], I must, I must. It’s the promised lands. We’ll see.”

But ‘Mystic Mac’ is still unsure of his plans after leaving the UFC. He confessed, “I don’t even know [what happens when my UFC contract is done]. I think no one in the space knows. I’m the highest-generating fighter on planet Earth right now, in today’s space. What happens after this, as I’m a free agent, I’m not so sure.”

Needless to say, fighting Paul as a free agent will be his first big step to realizing his career outside the UFC. With his and Paul’s promotional skills, their bout could perhaps be the biggest combat sports bout in recent fight history. Furthermore, Conor McGregor has more of a chance to beat Paul than, say, Mike Tyson or Anderson Silva, at this stage of the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s career.

Regardless, what are your thoughts on a potential clash between Conor McGregor and Jake Paul? Do you think we’ll see that fight any time soon? If they do clash, who do you think wins? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.