-
Brett Okamoto
Conor McGregor wanted to face Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match in India this year but said the UFC would not grant him permission.
In an interview this week with MMA personality The Schmo, McGregor said the UFC was not keen on what he called a “glorified spar” with Paul.
McGregor announced the potential bout against Paul in December, but Paul, a WWE star and social media influencer, has since said he will focus on professional wrestling.
“It is what it is,” McGregor told The Schmo. “The UFC just aren’t into it. The offer was there on the table, in writing. Both athletes will say, ‘He’s not fighting,’ but both [the UFC and WWE] are under the [TKO Group Holdings] banner. UFC and WWE, both rising up. The stock price of TKO Holdings is through the roof. New market in India has opened up and is booming. It was business savvy and business sense to make the fight happen.
“In between this waiting period that we find ourselves in before I can get back to the Octagon, it made perfect sense on the calendar to go ahead with it. The UFC weren’t into it. The WWE, I’m not sure what their interest in it was.”
McGregor fought Floyd Mayweather in a professional boxing match in 2017, a fight for which the UFC granted him permission.
A former two-weight UFC champion, McGregor hasn’t fought since he suffered a broken leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021. He was scheduled to return to competition in June, but was forced out of a scheduled fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 due to a broken toe. In November, McGregor was found liable in a sexual assault case and ordered by a judge to pay the complainant around $257,000.
McGregor, who has repeatedly insisted he will return to MMA, said he still intends to pursue a boxing event against Paul. McGregor and the Paul brothers — Logan and his brother, professional boxer Jake — crossed paths at the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday.
“I’m more inclined now for this influencer, f—ing whatever you call it, because it’s astronomical money,” McGregor said. “It’s astronomical, the figures. Who is there? Jake. Logan. KSI. I like the three of these guys and then all these other ones that are tussling around.”