Jake Paul has responded to Conor McGregor 's appeal for an opponent on social media with a picture of the UFC star crying.
The Irishman is targeting a comeback before the end of the year and has suggested he is most likely to return at 170lbs after bulking up to a new ripped physique. McGregor has been called out by several opponents including Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira, who are currently fighting at 155lbs.
McGregor offered an ultimatum to the UFC roster on social media asking for any potential opponent to call him out, tweeting: "If you want a knock off me step up and say your piece. I’m still picking who." Paul quickly responded with a picture of McGregor with a filter of him crying in a sharp reply.
Paul has been angling with a fight against McGregor himself throughout his five-fight boxing career, and has even offered UFC president Dana White the chance to stage a meeting between the pair in the Octagon. The YouTuber-turned-fighter has also frequently attempted to entice his rival into a feud on social media and has now received multiple responses including the star branding Paul a "jack***".
Most recently, McGregor trolled Paul during his appearance at Katie Taylor's victory over Amanda Serrano by accusing him of wearing "Jimmy Saville" glasses. Paul later hit back at McGregor by accusing him of "ducking" a fight. "It is what it is," Paul told media members in New York. Of course Conor's watching to support Katie.
"We had a little bit of banter back-and-forth, but of course he always has something to say but he doesn't really have a place to talk. He hasn't won a fight in five years, Dana [White, UFC president] owns him and I'm the one that got Katie Taylor a big payday and that's his hero.
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"Conor McGregor's not tall enough to ride a rollercoaster and I feel bad for him because he's ducking me. But we'll get that settled one day."
McGregor's first focus is on making a winning return to the UFC having lost three of his last four fights. His last victory came at 170lbs, where he is planning to make a comeback, and he has called out division champion Kamaru Usman.
Several top-level fighters including Colby Covington, Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns all ply their trade in the welterweight division. As such, former title challenger Stephen Thompson believes McGregor could struggle if he makes a weight switch.
"As for him moving up to welterweight, I think it’s a mistake. We’ve seen a lot of guys come up to weight classes, put on a lot of muscle, and then they’re nothing like they were before right," Thompson told Give Me Sport.
"We've got a lot of high-level wrestlers and why would he want to come to the most stacked and most difficult weight class at 170? I literally think my weight class is the most stacked weight class in the UFC. We have a murderers' row of the top 10 guys who are all very dangerous."
