Logan Paul has pleaded with Dana White‘s boss, UFC and WWE chief Ari Emanuel, to be permitted to take on Conor McGregor in the ring.
Last month, reports suggested that McGregor was in talks to fight Jake Paul’s older brother. In a post uploaded to X – formerly known as Twitter – the Irishman denied reports of a showdown with UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and announced his desire to take on Paul, posting: “The rumours of a bout with Topuria are false. I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. I have agreed. I will then seek my return to the Octagon.”
The potential clash could net both men a huge $250million, however, ‘The Maverick’ recently confirmed that he was solely dedicated to the WWE. That said, a life-changing offer to face the former two-division UFC champion may persuade the American to step back in the ring.
In a recent video uploaded to his official YouTube channel, Paul attended WWE Raw’s debut on Netflix. While he didn’t have a match, the social media star made an appearance in a pre-taped interview before heading ringside. The 29-year-old was filmed interacting with several legends of the sport, including Kevin Owens and LA Knight. However, his most intriguing encounter came when he bumped into Emanuel – the CEO of Endeavor and the TKO Group, which owns WWE and UFC.
Paul was filmed sharing a warm embrace and shaking with Emanuel before telling him: “Ari, I need one favour from you,” to which the Endeavor chief responded: “Yeah”, before Paul said: “I need you to greenlight me vs Conor.” The pair then chuckled, before mutually saying “seriously”.
In the same video, Paul made it clear he is still open to a fight with McGregor despite his WWE career, and appeared to reveal a phone call between the duo over a bout. The opening sequence referenced the stories that had been written about a potential bout before cutting to a scene which appeared to show McGregor speaking on loudspeaker to Paul. “This can happen my man for real,” an Irish voice is heard saying, while Paul holds a mobile phone. “This can and will happen.”
The video goes on to show Paul discussing the possibility of fighting McGregor while preparing a promo alongside WWE writer Rob Fee. The 29-year-old raised the possibility of saying he was done with boxing. “Saying no more boxing, that will get some attention,” he said. “Because that’s not true. If Conor McGregor wants to fight, we are running it. I mean, bro, it’s an epic fight… It would be something I’d like. Step away from the WWE for a second to do [that fight]. $250 million, bro. I’ve got to take that. If Nick Khan matches that, I’ll stay in the WWE.”
Paul added that the Irishman could be trying to persuade White – the UFC president – about the fight. “I think he’s trying to pressure Dana into making it happen because he’s owned by the UFC,” he said. “He can’t f***ing s***, let alone fight without them knowing.”
The UFC chief threw a spanner in the works after recently revealing that he expects ‘The Notorious’ to return to the Octagon this year. “Eventually,” White told the Pardon My Take podcast when asked if McGregor would fight in 2025. “No, no (he won’t fight KSI or Logan Paul]. Hopefully Conor McGregor returns in the fall.”
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