It was another good night for Jake Paul. The influencer turned boxer delivered his latest KO, this time to journeyman MMA fighter Mike Perry in the sixth round, but not everyone watching at home was impressed by his victory. In fact, UFC star turned actor Conor McGregor, no stranger to boxing himself, hit up social media afterwards and absolutely unloaded on Paul.
In an extended rant, McGregor called Paul out for his weight advantage, heavily implied he was taking performance enhancing drugs and criticized him for calling out Mike Tyson post-fight, given the legend’s age and recent major health problems. He also called him a “fat can of bitch piss.” You can check out the full rant on social below…
It’s pretty clear how McGregor feels about Paul, but why he felt the need to call him out so aggressively is still an open question. Some are, of course, saying he’s probably angling for his own fight down the road, but there’s also just a distinct chance he’s out here hating for the love of being a hater. McGregor has never been one to hold back his feelings on any issues, and Jake Paul is certainly someone who inspires a lot of feelings, even from those involved in the sport who don’t traditionally speak their minds as often as McGregor.
The main complaints about Paul are typically centered around his choice of opponents. Rather than taking on professional boxers, the influencer has typically taken on bigger name MMA fighters who aren’t as experienced with boxing. As a general rule, these fighters have also been older and many of them have given up a weight advantage. In this most recent fight, Mike Perry weighed in at 196 pounds and change, while Paul weighed in at exactly 200. That might not sound like a big difference, but Perry actually fought at 184 for a fight earlier this year and Paul was reportedly around 230 pounds when his fight with Tyson was cancelled. Not surprisingly, during the actual fight, Paul looked noticeably bigger than Perry.
As for McGregor, his career seems to be at a bit of a crossroads. He ventured into acting for a well-received turn in the Road House remake, but his return to the UFC Octagon was cancelled when he had to pull out of a fight due to an injury. Some fans think we’ll never see the popular Irishman square up again, but McGregor himself is convinced he’ll return sometime later this year once he heals up.
A possible fight between McGregor and Paul would have its own huge size difference. McGregor typically fights at around 170 pounds, while Paul had to really cut weight to make the 200 pound cut-off for the Perry fight. Given the hypothetical match-up would sell an insane number of PPVs and fill a big arena, however, you can never totally take it off the table.
We’ll see. In the short-term, Paul seems very focused on fighting Mike Tyson. Their original bout was scheduled to be broadcast by Netflix and would have easily been the highest profile moment of Paul’s career, even if it wouldn’t have exactly helped with the allegations that he only fights people who are past their primes.
Source Agencies