Jake Paul has branded Conor McGregor’s defeat to Dustin Poirier “the worst” in UFC history.
The YouTuber has pursued a boxing match with McGregor, but says the former two-weight UFC champion must “win at his own sport” first.
And Paul reckons ‘The Notorious’ needs to win a trilogy fight with Poirier this summer in order to salvage his reputation in the octagon.
McGregor, 32, suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Poirier in their rematch at UFC 257 in January.
And Paul says the fight has “ruined his legacy”.
(Image: Zuffa LLC)
“That’s the worst loss I think I’ve ever seen in the UFC,” the American told ES News. “From like a status perspective, like, it almost ruined his legacy.
“Obviously, they’re probably going to have a trilogy fight. But if he loses that trilogy fight in the same way, Conor McGregor’s legacy is over.”
Paul says getting in a boxing ring with McGregor isn’t as attractive to him in the wake of the Irishman’s latest defeat – although he insists he would still fight him.
“At this point, the Jake Paul – Conor McGregor fight isn’t even as exciting because he can’t even win at his own sport,” he said.
(Image: Getty Images)
“Obviously it’d still be a huge fight and obviously I’d still wanna do it, but he needs to win at his own sport first, honestly.”
Despite his latest swipe at McGregor, Paul insists he still has huge respect for the former lightweight and featherweight UFC champion, who is the biggest pay-per-view draw in the sport’s history.
He said: “I talk shit to Conor, but at the end of the day, I respect him.
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“I respect what he’s built, I respect who he is. And he changed the game for every fighter in the future.”
McGregor has been removed from the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings after losing two of his last three fights to Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Dubliner, who beat Poirier inside 90 seconds in their first meeting in 2014, is set to face his American rival in a third fight expected to take place in July.
