Jake Paul: Conor McGregor makes sense after Nate Diaz, but 'I don't know how serious he's taking fighting'

DALLAS – Jake Paul likes the idea of fighting Conor McGregor if victorious against Nate Diaz, but he isn’t too sure that it can happen.

The YouTube-star-turned-professional boxer fights Saturday against Diaz, one of the biggest stars to come out of the UFC. They’ll compete in a 10-round pro boxing match contested at 185 pounds. The fight takes place at the American Airlines Center and streams on DAZN/ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Paul sees himself knocking out Diaz, and wants McGregor to be next. However, Paul isn’t sure if McGregor is committed to fighting anymore.

“When I knock out Nate Diaz and do what Conor couldn’t, it only makes sense for him to want that money fight,” Paul told reporters including MMA Junkie on Thursday. “I don’t know how serious he’s taking fighting at all, and I don’t know how serious the fight world is taking him.

“Who knows if he still has that same appeal. But look, I always said I’d fight him. I’m down. It’s a big, massive event. He obviously has to ask his boss Dana, if he can do that. I’m my own boss. I make my own decisions. I could fight whoever, whenever, wherever. So he’s tied up and even if he wants to do it, Dana might not let him do it.”

Paul isn’t sure what can come next after Diaz, but he isn’t sweating it. He thinks there are plenty of names out there for him to fight.

“I think Nate was always the plan since he was getting out of the UFC,” Paul said. “Right now, I’m just focusing on this fight, and we’ll see what happens moving on from here. There’s still a lot of big names, a lot of big fights to be made. And again, I’m just going to continue challenging myself and continuing to fight big names in the sport.”

For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Paul vs. Diaz.