Jake Paul claims Dana White is holding Conor McGregor 'hostage'

Lucas Rezende

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Publish Date: 11/18/2024

Boxing sensation and internet celebrity Jake Paul has made a career of defeating aging legends and former UFC champions in the ring, with legendary heavyweight Mike Tyson being the latest name the 'Problem Child' added to his record.

Although the unanimous decision win happened only last Friday, the 27-year-old is already looking at his next opponent.

Paul once again tried poking at Dana White and Conor McGregor.

Jake Paul wants Dana White to free McGregor

Jake Paul wants to face Conor McGregor and add another UFC champion to his resume, having already defeated former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley. Although the 'Notorious' has not seen any action in over three years, Paul still thinks a boxing match against the Irishman is possible, as long as UFC president Dana White is removed from the equation.

In his official X profile, Jake Paul called Conor McGregor Dana White's hostage and blamed the UFC president for not being able to promote fights properly and putting his own needs before fighters'. In a public request, the Problem Child requested that White frees McGregor so that their fight can happen.

"Dana White has a been boxing promoter his whole career. All these nut riders need to do their research. His TV show failed. Couldn’t sell 4K tickets in Dublin with that useless Irish boxer he’s promoting. And he is not fighters first. He’s Dana first. Builds you up and tears you down. Now Conor McGregor is hostage. Free Conor." Paul wrote.

Dana White says Conor McGregor not returning until 'late' 2025

While Conor McGregor has repeatedly stated that he wants to fight as soon as possible, it was curious how Dana White said that the Irish star won't be returning until late in 2025.

"Conor is going to come back late 25 so there is a lot of time for us to work out who is going to fight Conor," he said at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. "There is no doubt Conor wants to fight, he hits me up all the time.

"I told you guys he probably wasn't going to fight in 2024 and he didn't," White claimed. "He's going to fight in 2025, probably at the end of the year, if it is earlier that is good for all of us."

McGregor has also recently spoken about wanting to quickly fight out his UFC contract so he can look for paydays in BKFC or elsewhere. That "late 2025" timeline won't make it possible though, so perhaps this is what Paul was hinting at when he said McGregor is held "hostage."

Dana White Post-Fight Press Conference | UFC 309

Conor McGregor has not fought since 2021

While Jake Paul has been having multiple boxing matches a year since 2020 (with 2022 being the only year he only fought once), Conor McGregor's career has hit a full stop since July 2021, when he lost a rematch to Dustin Poirier via TKO. Although the Irishman has hinted several returns since that defeat, the fact of the matter is that the Notorious has not yet fought again.

The closest McGregor came to having another UFC fight happened in 2023, when he coached 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler. Following the show's finale, the pair was set to fight in June of the same year, but a toe injury on the Irishman's part forced McGregor to withdraw from the bout.

In boxing, McGregor is also no stranger to fighting legends, having faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a big crossover match that took place in 2017. However, the ended up not going McGregor's way, ending in a TKO win for 'Money' in the 10th round.