Dana White isn’t interested in booking Jake Paul vs Conor McGregor.
Dana White sat down with Logan Paul, and it’s where he responded to Jake Paul’s callouts. The UFC President believes that Paul shouldn’t fight Conor McGregor because he is too big for him.
“Well, he shouldn’t even be fighting Conor McGregor,” White said on Impaulsive with Logan Paul (via MMA Fighting). “These guys [the Pauls] are f—ng huge. [Logan] is huge, his brother [Jake] is huge. What’s your brother, 6-foot-1, 210 [pounds]? Conor McGregor is 145, 155 pounds. … There’s weight classes for a reason.
“Do you think [Jake] could make ‘70?” White continued, asking Logan Paul directly.
“I don’t think so,” Logan Paul replied.
“Yeah, exactly,” White said. “And it’s a stretch for Conor to fight at 170. He fought Nate [Diaz] at ‘70, that isn’t his f—ng weight class, not even close.”
It’s pretty obvious that Paul is indeed bigger and has made a lot of money by beating smaller MMA stars in boxing. That being said, Dana White was also being a bit disingenuous by comparing current walking weight to actual weight divisions. He even included 145 lbs, which McGregor struggled to cut down to seven years ago, and will never be able to make again.
McGregor has fought at 170 lbs thrice. If we’d also make a pretty pointless comparison using his current walking weight instead, the Irish star has actually been bragging about bulking up to “190 lbs of granite” and looking almost unrecognizable during his off season recovery.
Paul, who fights at 190 lbs in boxing, says White is only making “excuses” and claimed that he can cut down to 175 lbs to fight McGregor.
Dana White is begging for Diaz and Conor to fight for a third time…they have fought at 170 pounds in both their fights
I will fight Conor at 175 pounds, no problem
Stop making excuses pussies https://t.co/XDjQSawdQg
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) March 16, 2022
It’s unclear if Paul can actually cut that much weight, especially with his lack of experience at it, but for what it’s worth, a lot of UFC welterweights also walk around over 200 lbs.
Paul is bigger than McGregor but at the end of the day, money talks, which is why White likely still has a “never say never” approach now.
“I’m never completely closed off to anything,” White said about Paul. “I used to say that about things, but I don’t say that anymore, because you never know. You never know what could happen.”
The fight is unlikely to happen, as Paul can demand a lot more money in boxing that UFC will likely want to give. If by any chance UFC gets a deal that’s more than favorable to them though, you can expect that Paul suddenly isn’t too “huge” anymore.