Jake Paul has a roadmap to a money-spinning Conor McGregor fight.
The YouTuber turned professional boxer first has a date with retired MMA fighter Ben Askren on April 17.
From there, should Paul win, all of a sudden he has options. Floyd Mayweather has already publicly suggested he’d like to beat both Paul brothers – he already has a fight with Logan, Jake’s brother, on hold – and Jake sees a route to the McGregor fight he’s been publicly shouting for.
His way to the Irishman apparently goes through Nate Diaz and Paul says they have already held some talks on how to make that happen.
“We’ll see what happens after this fight,” Paul told MMA Junkie. “Floyd Mayweather called me out last week. I still think there’s the McGregor fight. Nate Diaz said he’s down to fight me. We’ll see what happens. I’m excited. This is just the start of an illustrious career.
“Ben Askren just happens to be the first on the list. People are going to see. They’re going to be surprised and it’s going to be hard for me to get a fight after this, to be honest. It really is.
“People are going to see my performance and say, ‘Let’s really second guess ourselves here because, do we want to lose to the Disney-channel, actor, boxer kid?
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“I think Nate Diaz will probably happen first,” Paul said. “I think Conor needs to get some wins under his belt. Conor is owned by Dana White. Conor is Dana White’s (expletive), so he has to get Dana White’s approval.
“Nate Diaz only has two more fights in the UFC (on his contract), so if he can complete those and he’s freed up then Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul will happen in 2022. Those are sort of the talks that are happening right now.”
Knowing that Diaz only has two fights on his deal suggests that they have indeed engaged in some kind of talks and Diaz has interest.
What Diaz probably won’t like to hear is that Paul seems to think of the Stockton-native as a stepping-stone to the prize he really wants.
“Once I beat Nate Diaz. Once I embarrass him, actually, I will be undeniable to McGregor because I will say, ‘Hey, bubba. Listen to me guy, you little Irish guy: I beat the guy who beat you. So you have to fight me.’
“That’s why this is so exciting. It’s one step at a time it’s one fight at a time. I still have a major milestone ahead of me April 17, and like I said, though, this is the start of an illustrious career.
“Ten years from now I’ll be coming to watch these interviews and I’ll be like, ‘Damn, this kid was a little evil genius, predicting all of this.”
