Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has reached a preliminary agreement to fight American social media influencer-turned-fighter Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match, the former UFC champion said on social media.
The Irish fighter added in his revelation on X that he is in talks with the family of billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani for the bout. “I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in India. I have agreed,” McGregor wrote on Tuesday.
McGregor also said that rumours of a potential bout with Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Ilia Topuria were false. McGregor said he would “seek his return to the Octagon” after his boxing exhibition with Paul.
Topuria also denied any speculation he would fight McGregor.“The rumors of bout with mchicken are false,” Topuria said on social media. “I don’t fight nor am I interested in fighting with a rapist.”
McGregor announcement comes less than a month after a civil court jury in Ireland ruled he must pay nearly $257,000 to a woman who said he “brutally raped and battered” her at a Dublin hotel penthouse in December 2018.
Nikita Hand said the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex.
The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done.
The 36-year-old McGregor was once the biggest UFC star, but he has not fought injuring his leg since during a bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. He pulled out of a scheduled UFC 303 match with Michael Chandler last June and said later that it was due to a broken toe.
Paul is a YouTuber-turned-boxer. He previously survived eight rounds against retired five-division champion Floyd Mayweather, who is 18 years his senior, in a fight three years ago. His brother Jake Paul won a unanimous decision over 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson last month in Arlington, Texas.
The Jake Paul-Tyson fight was the first live sports event on Netflix, which announced that the bout was viewed in 60 million households.