Jake Paul wasted no time in firing back at Conor McGregor following the latter's recent remarks about him.
Engaging in a familiar exchange of verbal jabs, this latest exchange between "The Problem Child" and "The Notorious" took a personal turn due to Paul's upcoming bout against McGregor's former adversary, Nate Diaz.
When questioned about his thoughts on the forthcoming boxing match between Paul and Diaz, McGregor didn't hold back, labeling Paul as "windy" and a "donkey," while predicting Diaz would emerge victorious. Paul, aged 26, found McGregor's comments amusing but didn't shy away from launching his trademark profanity-laden retort aimed at the Irishman.
“Guess what, Conor? I’ll beat the f****** f*** out of you and you can’t box as good as me,” Paul said on IMPAULSIVE. “I’m gonna do to Nate what you couldn’t, which is knock him the f*** out. You’re gonna be sitting there with your new beer company that’s failing, drinking it, drunk as f***, realizing that you pissed your life away drinking at the end of the bottle. You’re gonna say, ‘Damn. I really thought no one was gonna do what I did in this sport. I really thought no one was gonna be as big of a name. I really thought I was gonna be the biggest forever.’ But you can’t choose and you can’t have both lives. You can’t have the fun, party, cocaine life, and be the greatest fighter in the world and you chose the wrong path.
“That money fight will always be there and when I knock Nate Diaz the f*** out and you realize I’m the biggest fight for you, call me and I’ll answer. I’m my own boss, I make my own decisions. I’m not controlled by Dana White, I don’t have a dad. So, I can make the fight happen. If Dana lets you make the fight happen, then we can run it.”
McGregor and Diaz have a history in MMA, having faced each other twice. Diaz secured a victory in their first encounter with a second-round rear-naked choke, while McGregor managed to even the score by winning the rematch through a majority decision. Since then, Diaz has had a mixed record of 2 wins and 2 losses, fulfilling his UFC contract with a notable fourth-round guillotine submission against Tony Ferguson in September of the previous year.
Diaz's upcoming bout against Paul will mark his professional boxing debut, as well as his first time competing in the middleweight division. McGregor, on the other hand, has been teasing a return to boxing ever since his high-profile crossover fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August 2017. If Paul manages to bounce back from his first career loss to Tommy Fury and secure a victory over Diaz, it would undeniably increase the allure for McGregor, the former UFC double champion. The possibility of a post-fight callout from Paul seems almost inevitable in such a scenario.
“I don’t think being an alcoholic is inspiring,” Paul said of McGregor and his new Netflix docuseries McGregor Forever. “I respect him, but I’m gonna f*** him up. That’s great and all [what he’s gone through] but this is the entertainment business so are we gonna be entertaining or are we gonna sit here and go, ‘I saw his doc and I respect him.’
“It’s one of the biggest fights in combat sports that can be made right now and especially after I do what I do to Nate Diaz.”