Getty After UFC 262 Conor McGregor's future got a lot more difficult.
He was already a huge star on YouTube, but now 2-0 professional boxer Jake Paul desires to lure UFC superstar Conor McGregor into a megafight boxing match. Even more importantly, Paul has a plan to make the fight happen. The 23-year-old American revealed his big idea about how he can get McGregor inside the ring in an interview with ESPN on Thursday.
“I am dedicating my life to beating Conor McGregor,” Paul said per ESPN. “Financially, it already makes sense. Financially, I’m already one of the biggest prizefighters, and there’s only a couple more bosses to check off and to beat and to conquer.”
Paul scored a devastating second-round knockout against ex-NBA star Nate Robinson on Saturday night on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. pay-per-view card on Triller.
That stunning stoppage sent shockwaves throughout popular culture, and now Paul is riding that wave as a way to lure McGregor into a fight, too.
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Paul Reveals Masterplan for Fighting McGregor
Paul isn’t going to rush into fighting McGregor.
Instead, the YouTuber’s masterplan is to convince UFC president Dana White to match him in boxing matches against other UFC stars before McGregor.
While Paul didn’t specifically name any of the stars he wants White to match him against, Paul has called out the likes of Jorge Masvidal in recent months.
Additionally, Paul has talked about boxing matches against retired UFC star Ben Askren and Bellator MMA fighter Dillon Danis as well.
“I want to bring MMA fighters into the boxing ring and embarrass them,” Paul said per ESPN.
In that way, Paul wants to earn the McGregor fight. In fact, he even likened it to playing a video game, one in which McGregor is the final boss.
“I want to fight a couple more people, I think, first,” Paul said per ESPN. “We’re figuring that out. I want to prove to the world that, ‘Yo, I’m gonna knock out all these fighters.’ Conor McGregor can maybe be the final boss. If we were playing a video game, he could be the final boss. And then I’ll probably retire after I beat McGregor.”
McGregor’s Plans for 2021 Include UFC and Boxing
McGregor, 32, is one of only four fighters in UFC history to hold two championships simultaneously.
The former UFC “champ champ” returns to MMA action against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on January 23.
Additionally, the Irishman plans to fight Manny Pacquiao in a superfight boxing match sometime next year.
That would be McGregor’s second professional boxing match. McGregor lost via 10th-round stoppage to Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in August 2017, and now he wants to fight Pacquiao inside a boxing ring, too.
Pacquiao, 41, currently holds a world championship in boxing’s 147-pound welterweight division. Moreover, the Filipino icon is the only boxing champion in history to win titles in eight different weight classes.
McGregor would likely have his work cut out for him against Pacquiao inside a boxing ring.
In the same way, Paul would probably have his work cut out for him against McGregor inside a boxing ring, too.
Regardless, it seems both those fights might actually happen.
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The Plan: ‘I’m Dedicating My Life To Beating Conor McGregor’