Conor McGregor poked fun at Jake Paul‘s penchant for fighting over-the-hill fighters in his disinterested response to the social media star-turned-fighter’s challenge.
“Nakisa [Bidarian] already rang me, lad, it’s this guy next for you. Good luck pal,” McGregor wrote, along with a photo of 82-year-old Senator Mitch McConnell, in a now-deleted tweet on X.
Bidarian is Paul’s manager and business partner at Most Valuable Promotions.
Paul renewed his interest to fight McGregor, not in the ring, but in the octagon, after he dominated 58-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson in their boxing match on November 15.
“Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs. That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t,” Paul wrote on X .
McGregor, 36, hasn’t fought in three years.
The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler in June. But it was cancelled two weeks before the fight, citing a toe injury sustained by McGregor.
Canelo Alvarez Also Not Interested in Fighting Jake Paul
McGregor is not the only one disinterested in Paul’s antics.
Long before the Paul-Tyson fight, reigning WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez was also dismissive.
“I’m not interested,” Alvarez told TMZ in March.
The Mexican champion added Paul’s fights is a detriment to the sport.
“It isn’t [good for boxing],” Alvarez told TMZ. “I think Netflix is good for boxing, but for that fight especially, I think Netflix is doing something wrong there.”
“I think Netflix being involved, yes, it’s good, but not in that kind of fight. I think it’s more [of a] show than a fight. That’s what I think.”
Paul took shot at Alvarez after he defeated Tyson.
“Canelo needs me, so I’m not even going to try and call him out,” Paul said in the post-fight interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. “He knows he wants a payday. So, he knows where the money man is at.”
Jake Paul Shuns Title Shot Against Artur Beterbiev
Undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF & WBO light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev offered a title shot to Paul. But Paul appears to be disinterested.
“Just seen this….top 5 pound-for-pound fighter in the world calling me out. Hahahahahaha. 4 years in, and I run this sport,” Paul wrote on X, quoting a tweet about Beterbiev’s offer to fight Paul.
Beterbiev challenged Paul for the second time but the social media star kept on dodging it.
“Jake Paul, what can you do in the ring against the current undisputed champion? Just know that I’m always open to suggestions,” Beterbiev said on his Instagram story.
‼️ Artur Beterbiev is offering Jake Paul a shot at his undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF & WBO light-heavyweight world titles on Instagram today after the Mike Tyson fight… pic.twitter.com/gZ2pF8T0Er
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 16, 2024
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In January 2023, Beterbiev said he would accept a fight against Paul after the social media star said in 2022 that he would rather fight Beterbiev than Dmitry Bivol.
Jake Paul asked if he would rather fight Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev: “I would rather fight Beterbiev.” [@DAZNBoxing Show] pic.twitter.com/h0J6G7EFmk
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) July 29, 2022
Beterbiev defeated Bivol in a very close majority decision (114–114, 115–113 and 116–112) in October for the undisputed title.
Beterbiev is confident Paul will be an easy opponent for him and predicted a first-round stoppage.
“Tell him to call me, call my promoter,” Beterbiev said at the time, per The U.S. Sun. “I’m ready to fight him I think it’s an easy fight for me. Do you think it’s a tough fight for me?
“If I’m a real boxing champion, I need to beat guys like Jake Paul in the first round, you know. But maybe something can happen, but if I’m a real champion, then I should be able to beat this guy in the first round.”
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Conor McGregor Responds to Jake Paul’s Challenge