Former UFC champion Conor McGregor announced Tuesday he is delaying his return to MMA fighting to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India—marking the latest major match for Paul and a return to fighting for McGregor after he was found liable for sexual assault last month.
Conor McGregor poses for photographers during a photo call for the the film ‘Road House’ in London on March 14.
Invision
Key Takeaways
- Irish UFC star McGregor said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he is “in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India” and has agreed, noting he will seek his “return to the Octagon” after that.
- McGregor said in the post the rumors of a fight with featherweight champion Ilia Topurio—who has said he wants to fight McGregor but said recently that McGregor “doesn’t deserve to share the octagon with me”—are false.
- McGregor, who is more well known for MMA fighting in the UFC, hasn’t fought since 2021 when he broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier and has only professionally boxed once in 2017 when he lost to Floyd Mayweather, ESPN reported.
- Paul has not publicly confirmed he will fight McGregor, and Forbes reached out to him for comment.
Surprising Fact
McGregor was named Forbes’ highest-paid athlete in 2021, when we estimated he collected a total of $180 million in the 12 months prior. Most of his money came from the sale of his majority stake in Proper No. Twelve, a whiskey brand, to Proximo Spirits for $150 million.
What To Watch For
The involvement of the Ambani family. McGregor’s tweet did not state to what extent the family—which runs Reliance Industries, a company with interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, retail, media and financial services—is involved in the fight. Mukesh Ambani leads Forbes’ list of wealthiest people in India, and, as of Tuesday, Forbes’ estimated his net worth was $98.2 billion, making him the 18th wealthiest person in the world.
Key Background
McGregor is a former two-weight UFC champion and capitalized on his fame, making about $158 million outside of his fighting career in the year he was named Forbes’ highest-paid athlete. At the time, he was only the third athlete, after Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, to earn more than $70 million outside of his sport in a year while still competing. McGregor was found liable of sexual assault last month by a jury and was ordered to pay more than $250,000 in damages, leading him to lash out against Irish prosecutors and the accuser.
The woman said McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018 at a south Dublin hotel and filed civil charges against him and one other man in 2021. During testimony in the case, McGregor said the woman was “full of lies” and that the pair had consensual sex. McGregor was also accused in 2023 of raping a woman in a restroom at Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Miami, though he did not face charges.
Paul, for his part, is more known for WWE fighting and being a YouTuber, though he has competed in four exhibition boxing fights, one of which ended in a tie with Mayweather, ESPN reported. Paul ranked twelfth on Forbes’ list of Top Creators this fall with about $9.8 million in earnings after he signed a three-year WWE contract, continues to run his podcast and launched three brands including Prime drinks.
Tangent
Paul’s brother, Jake Paul, fought—and beat—Mike Tyson earlier this year in a live event on Netflix that drew 65 million viewers at its peak in November and had more than 72,000 people in attendance.
