
A proposed exhibition boxing match between Conor McGregor and Logan Paul, to have taken place in India later this year, is dead.
McGregor, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, revealed to The Schmo in a recent interview that the MMA powerhouse had served as a roadblock to the fight actually taking place. Calling the bout a “glorified spar,” McGregor stated that the promotion simply wasn’t interested, despite both athletes falling under the TKO Group banner.
“It is what it is. The UFC just aren’t into it.” McGregor told media personality “The Schmo.” The Irish star had been on hand as part of the promotion for BKFC KnuckleMania V. “I had, the offer was there on the table, in writing. Both athletes [Jake and Logan Paul] will say, ‘He’s not fighting,’ but both athletes [McGregor and Logan Paul] are under the TKO banner. UFC, WWE both rising up. The stock price of TKO Holding Ground is through the roof. New market in India opened up and booming. It was business savvy, and business sense to make the fight happen. Or, should I say, the glorified spar happen.
“And 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. I’m not sure, the WWE, what their interest in it was. I just knew the UFC weren’t into it. And what’s his name, Logan, he just kept quiet, didn’t say nothing.”
The UFC has historically prevented its athletes from competing outside the company, aside from grappling matches. The exception came when Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a pro boxing match in 2017.