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Former UFC champion Conor McGregor has agreed to a boxing match against Logan Paul set to take place in India, and simultaneously shut down rumors of a potential MMA match with UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
McGregor, 36, posted on the social media platform X. “The rumors of a bout with topurio are false. I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. I have agreed. I will then seek my return to the Octagon.” (referring to the UFC cage.)
Topuria also denied any speculation he’d fight McGregor: “The rumors of bout with mchicken are false. I don’t fight nor am I interested in fighting with a rapist.” (referring to a lawsuit brought against McGregor where a civil court jury in Ireland ruled he must pay nearly $257,000 to a woman who said he “brutally raped and battered” her at a Dublin hotel penthouse in December 2018.
McGregor has appeared in one previous boxing bout, losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2016 that ended with a 10th-round TKO. His last MMA bout was a 2021 TKO loss to Dustin Poirier, where he broke his leg in the loss. McGregor was set to return in June for a battle with Michael Chandler, but withdrew from that UFC 303 meeting because of a foot injury.
Paul, 29, is a YouTuber-turned-boxer. He has participated in four exhibition boxing bouts, including a draw with Mayweather, draw and defeat to KSI and a win over Dillon Danis. His brother Jake Paul won a unanimous decision over 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson last month in Arlington, Texas.
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