Conor McGregor vs. Logan Paul appears to be little more than a pipe dream, as Paul has stated he is fully committed to his wrestling career and has no interest in pursuing the fight.
It’s make or break for McGregor, who looks to rebound after an incredibly rocky 2024. McGregor’s last stint in boxing was against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, where he pulled a reported $100 million purse, 50 percent of which the UFC may have taken as their cut.
Now, McGregor is after that Mayweather money, but not everyone is a believer. With the McGregor-Paul fight potentially off the table, MMA fighter-turned-pundit Chael Sonnen dismissed the original plan as “the world’s dumbest idea.”
Chael Sonnen gets brutally honest on Conor McGregor vs. Logan Paul
Taking to his YouTube channel, Sonnen outlined everything wrong with the rumored boxing exhibition.
“… There is no family that is willing to pay a quarter-billion dollars for that fight,” Sonnen remarked. “There is no human that has a quarter-billion dollars that would put on a boxing match and the first thing he does is find two guys that don’t box.”
Sonnen believes that the fight’s ambiguity was their first mistake. Reports of a $500 million purse for McGregor-Paul were never set in stone and came around before any other major details.
“If you can’t contain information until it’s done. … Until a scheduled press conference where you release this to the world… Where is tickets? Where is distribution? … More importantly when is the date, right? You don’t have a story until you have the five W’s: Who, what, when, where, and why. … That doesn’t mean they can’t pull it off. This is the world’s dumbest idea…”
This doesn’t mean McGregor won’t fight somebody else later this year.
Conor McGregor gets plan B amid failed Logan Paul negotiations
McGregor’s boxing options might not be exhausted, as another influencer-boxer has stepped up to the plate as a potential replacement for Paul. British YouTube star KSI has thrown his hat in the ring to fight ‘The Notorious’.
“I’m very down,” KSI remarked in a post on X on January 8.
KSI hasn’t fought in boxing since his split decision loss to Tommy Fury in October 2023. He doesn’t carry the name brand like Paul or Fury, but he certainly has a loyal online fanbase, amassing tens of millions of followers across YouTube and Instagram.
Whether the fight justifies the alleged $250 million purse remains yet to be seen.