Both fighters will likely follow the action inside the ring keenly as they have vested interests in the outcome of the double main event. Paul lost to Fury in late February, still the only loss on his record.
The social media star also made his amateur debut against KSI’s younger brother, Deji Olatunji – winning by TKO in the chief undercard match to KSI vs Logan Paul – at the same arena in Manchester, England.
Jake Paul regularly attends his older brother’s fights. During the build-up to this event, he has taken umbrage with Danis attacking Logan’s fiancee, Nina Agdal.
As for McGregor, Danis has been one of his training partners during fight camps dating back to 2016. That long-time association has seen him engage in hostilities with Logan Paul before the YouTuber fights his friend.
This summer, McGregor called out KSI for a bare-knuckle fight after taking the microphone inside the ring after Anthony Joshua beat Robert Helenius. The British YouTuber was ringside at the O2 Arena in London, as McGregor was before going through the ropes.
Whether something similar will transpire with Jake Paul in the house at the weekend remains to be seen. However, the YouTuber’s former opponent, Ben Askren, has previously tipped that fight to take place.
“I think McGregor times Jake Paul makes everyone a lot of money,” the MMA artist admitted on UFC fighter-turned-commentator Daniel Cormier’s eponymous YouTube channel. Askren lost to Paul via a first-round TKO in April 2021 to end months of social media back-and-forth between the pair.
The former Olympic wrestler admitted that fighting McGregor “makes a lot of sense” if Paul were to beat Nate Diaz. He did just that in early August, taking a unanimous decision victory.
Askren continued: “I don’t know what Conor’s contract is or what his relationship is with UFC where he can go get it done, but I think a lot of people buy that fight. I think there are a lot of casual fans who just want to see a boxing match.
“And you know what, Jake Paul’s not bad at boxing. Maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better potentially, but he did beat Tyron (Woodley, twice); he did beat Anderson Silva.”
Before any potential Paul fight, McGregor seems set to face Michael Chandler in the new year. The Irishman has not fought since July 2021.
However, he is in the process of re-entering the USADA testing pool. After at least six months of testing, he can then fight again.