Conor McGregor and Logan Paul's $500 million fight deal raises one major question, says legendary MMA referee
12/31/2024 02:56 PM
‘Big’ John McCarthy believes Conor McGregor’s potential $500 million fight with Logan Paul could lead the UFC to take legal action against him.
After weeks of speculation and rumors regarding a potential boxing match with Logan Paul, Conor McGregor‘s combat sports return is inching closer. As of this writing, nothing has been formally booked and finalized, the McGregor and Paul’s teams are in ‘preliminary agreements’ on a 2025 showdown in India.
If the fight comes to fruition, it’ll be McGregor’s second professional boxing match, and his first since his 2017 ‘money fight’ against Floyd Mayweather Jr. While McGregor is in talks to fight Paul, he’s also targeting a potential UFC return for late 2025, according to UFC CEO Dana White.
McGregor, as of this writing, remains under contract with the UFC despite ongoing fight talks with Paul. To finalize the McGregor vs. Paul fight, the UFC would have to permit McGregor to make it happen, otherwise, it would likely be a breach of contract.
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‘Big’ John McCarthy hints at potential legal battles surrounding Conor McGregor/Logan Paul
During a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, ‘Big’ John McCarthy noted the one major hurdle McGregor has to overcome to make the Paul fight happen.
“The real question is – his contract with the UFC. The only way for him to get that fight is they’ve got to allow it. If he signed that contract, they could sue him. Will he pay? Can they get the money from him? I can’t say that,” McCarthy said of McGregor.
“But does he want to go out in that fashion? That doesn’t make sense. $250 million dollars, he can make some strange choices.”
The rumored McGregor vs. Paul financial payout is $250 million for each fighter, which would be an astronomical financial figure for a boxing match. In contrast, McGregor made a $30 million disclosed guarantee paycheck from the Mayweather fight.
In an interview with TMZ, Paul revealed that he expected to make around $20 million to fight Mayweather in 2021. Years after their boxing match, Paul accuses Mayweather of stiffing him financially and failing to pay the previously agreed-upon figure.
Conor McGregor vs. Logan Paul fight talks ramp up as 2025 approaches
It’s important to note that the rumored $500 million McGregor vs. Paul payout came from a widely dismissed source, although a potential fight booking would likely remain a lucrative venture. But McGregor re-posted the rumored $250 million fight offer, leading to the figure to spread like wildfire.
In the meantime, as fight talks move forward, McGregor and Paul both shared recent training footage ahead of their proposed boxing match. If the fight comes to fruition, it would be Paul’s first boxing fight since defeating McGregor’s longtime SBG Ireland teammate, Dillon Danis, last year.
McGregor hasn’t fought in the UFC Octagon since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He was supposed to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June before withdrawing due to a toe injury.
Clarity regarding a potential McGregor vs. Paul should surface in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the fight continues to be a hot topic as 2024 draws to a close.
