Following his fight against Boxing legend Mike Tyson, Jake Paul extended a challenge to Conor McGregor for an MMA fight. However, NASCAR and IndyCar driver Conor Daly stepped in with a hilarious response on social media. Daly joked about joining the fracas, but only if it could financially back his racing ambitions.
Paul’s challenge to McGregor marks another chapter in their ongoing feud. Paul, a 27-year-old social media influencer turned boxer, has crafted a persona built on controversy and unexpected challenges within the combat sports community. His challenge to McGregor reads:
“Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs. That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t.”
Daly was quick to pick up on the opportunity and jokingly responded:
“Will it pay enough to fund my @IndyCar season, Jake? Because if so…”
Daly’s jest emerges on the heels of Paul’s recent bout against the iconic former boxing champion Mike Tyson. Hosted at AT&T Stadium, the fight was streamed on Netflix and brought in a staggering audience. Viewership numbers soared to an estimated 60 million households worldwide, with a peak of 65 million concurrent streams, establishing the fight as one of the most live-streamed events ever.
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images for Netflix © 2024
These figures, however, were dampened by Netflix’s broadcasting pitfalls, which left viewers grappling with buffering issues and broadcast glitches.
Paul’s victory, marked by unanimous decision scores of 80-72 and 79-73, was a testament to his control in the ring against a 58-year-old Tyson attempting a professional comeback after nearly two decades.
When speaking to the media after the fight, Paul commented, as reported by Sky Sports:
“I wanted to give the fans a show but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” Paul said.
“No, [I didn’t feel Mike’s power]. I tried to give the best fight I possibly could, but when someone is just surviving in the ring, it’s hard to make it exciting.
“I couldn’t really get him to engage with me, slip shots, or do something super cool. I don’t care about what people say, they are always going have something to say, it is what it is.
“There was a point when he wasn’t really engaging back, I didn’t know if he was tired. I could just tell his age was showing a little bit, and I just have so much respect.
“That violence and war thing between us, after he slapped me, I wanted to be aggressive, take him down and knock him out, but that went away as the rounds went on.”
