Jake Paul's call out of Conor McGregor has been questioned by Dana White as the UFC boss told him to challenge Israel Adesanya instead.
Paul has been pushing for a fight with McGregor for several months, urging White to let the UFC star out of his contract to challenge him. McGregor recently addressed Paul after he trolled him for his boxing technique in a recent video, labelling the YouTube star as a " jackass ".
White has played down the fight due to the two fighters difference in size, with McGregor usually competing at 155lbs whilst Paul has weighed in at 192lbs for his most recent ring appearances. White thinks if Paul is looking to challenge a UFC star, it should be 185lb champion Adesanya.
"That kid couldn't even make 170, that's how big he is," White told ESPN. "He's calling out these guys...do you want to see that fight? Why are we even talking about this? They're not even remotely close to being in the same weight class, not even remotely close.
"This kid's 6'1", 210[lbs]. Conor McGregor is 155lbs. Why isn't he calling out Israel Adesanya? I know, you know everybody else knows and he knows too."
In an effort to secure a fight with the Irishman, Paul has challenged McGregor to fight at 175lbs. That would mark a career-low weight for Paul but a career-high weight for McGregor, who has fought three times at 170lbs during his current UFC stint.
McGregor is hoping to return to the cage this summer after a broken tibia in his last fight against Dustin Poirier has delayed his UFC return. White thinks the Irishman won't fight until early fall, but McGregor has labelled that as " garbage " and wants to compete earlier.
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When asked if a crossover fight between McGregor and Paul could happen, White told the Impaulsive podcast : "Probably not. I'm never closed off to anything. I used to say that about things but I don't anymore.
"I don't hate the kid. He came out and said, 'Now you love me'... well I never said that but I don't hate him. He's a young kid out there trying to make some money and I don't fault anyone for that.
'We have the most successful combat sports business of all time; what we do is completely different to what him and his brother [Logan] are doing."
