Conor McGregor has had his share of feuds over the years, but his ongoing rivalry with Jake Paul remains one of the most entertaining. The two have traded words numerous times, often teasing a potential showdown, though a fight has never come close to materializing. Still, Paul hasn’t stopped taking shots at McGregor.

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Ahead of BKFC 82 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, ‘The Problem Child’ fired another dig at McGregor’s co-owned promotion via social media. “I would never fight with your budget a — promotion,” Paul claimed on Instagram. “Crazy how you did Frankie Edgar. Embarrassing.” Now, McGregor’s fiery response to Paul’s jab has made it to social media.

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Conor McGregor claims Jake Paul is intimidated

Speaking to DAZN during the BKFC 82 event in Newark, the 37-year-old claimed Jake Paul was intimidated by him. “Listen, it’s an intimidating one, you know,” McGregor said about a bare-knuckle fight. It’s worth noting that ‘El Gallo’ is currently preparing for his exhibition bout against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis on November 14 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, under some interesting rules

The pair is set to go head-to-head in a 10-round contest with three-minute rounds, using 12-ounce gloves, at a maximum weight of 195 pounds. While the bout won’t count toward their professional records, it will still declare an official winner. Meanwhile, Conor McGregor has been lobbying UFC CEO Dana White to let him face Michael Chandler on the White House card next year. 

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‘The Notorious’ claimed the fight is a “done deal,” though the UFC has yet to finalize the event’s official lineup. However, a recent update has surfaced that will prevent McGregor from entering the Octagon for the next several months.

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McGregor banned for 18 months thanks to anti-doping rule violation

The former UFC double champion just got handed an 18-month suspension. Why? Well, he violated the UFC’s anti-doping policy after missing three attempted tests in 2024. The announcement came on Tuesday from the Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) organization. “McGregor missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC ADP [anti-doping policy],” CSAD said in a statement. 

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McGregor missed the attempts to collect samples on June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024. Each of these instances had been recorded as whereabouts failures. But the big question is, can McGregor still fight in the White House card next year? Absolutely! The sanction was backdated to September 20, 2024, and will run through March 20, 2026. CSAD noted McGregor was recovering from injury and not in fight preparation at the time, adding that he fully cooperated with the inquiry and accepted responsibility.

As a result, his standard 24-month penalty was reduced by six months. The 37-year-old has since re-entered the testing pool and could return in time for the June 2026 UFC card at the White House.

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That being said, Conor McGregor seems to have dodged the potential of missing out on fighting on the White House card by a close margin. In the meantime, he continues to mock Jake Paul by claiming BKFC may have intimidated the YouTube boxer. What do you make of all this?

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Sudeep Sinha

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Sudeep Sinha is a Golf Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the storylines around the sport's biggest events and names. He previously spent over two years writing in the Boxing department, where his fight-night coverage was featured on Sports Illustrated, Daily Mail, and Yahoo Sports, including his reporting on Ryan Garcia's career arc. On the golf beat, Sudeep covers tour news, player form, and the season-long storylines that shape the men's and women's game, from majors to the ongoing shifts in how professional golf is structured. That same appetite for detail that made his boxing coverage stand out now shows up in how he breaks down a swing change or a schedule shakeup for hardcore and casual fans alike. Outside work, he splits his time between reading, cycling, and following combat sports.

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Syed Rahil Ahmed

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