Jake Paul and Sean O’Malley are ready to save the day.
With rumors of Conor McGregor’s imminent withdrawal from UFC 303 running rampant, multiple reports have revealed that the promotion is scrambling to come up with a “Plan B,” whether that be a replacement opponent for McGregor’s opponent, ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler, or a new fight altogether.
Fortunately, they won’t have to look very far for a couple of saviors willing to step up and rescue International Fight Week from certain doom.
O’Malley, the UFC’s reigning bantamweight world champion, offered to step in and take the headlining spot on June 29, so long as he gets to pick his opponent.
I’ll fight @jakepaul to save UFC 303
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) June 12, 2024
“I’ll fight @jakepaul to save UFC 303,” O’Malley wrote on X.
It didn’t take long for ‘The Problem Child’ to respond and seemingly accept the offer.
MMA fight before Tyson ✅ @PFLMMA https://t.co/D5OYICXUx2
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 12, 2024
“MMA fight before Tyson,” Paul replied alongside a green checkmark.
Shortly after, he offered a follow-up post, writing:
100% will kill Omalley in MMA
He’s a small man
PFL Vs UFC June 29th
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 12, 2024
“100% will kill Omalley in MMA He’s a small man PFL Vs UFC June 29th.”
Obviously, the whole thing is nothing more than a couple of combat sports stars drumming up some attention and a few headlines amid the chaos. However, the two took things a step further, going face-to-face in a quick clip that also featured American rapper and songwriter Rubi Rose.
Cleaning this boy up and getting the W @itscalledw_
June 29th PFL Vs UFC @SugaSeanMMA @RubiRose pic.twitter.com/IyujNTrOrG
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 13, 2024
Jake Paul vs. Sean O’Malley is Probably More Realistic Than Conor McGregor’s Return At This Point
Unfortunately, Sean O’Malley vs. Jake Paul appears to be more likely for UFC 303 than seeing Conor McGregor make his quote-unquote “greatest comeback in combat sports history.” After more than a year of rumors and reports, it finally felt like we were closing in on the real deal. Then suddenly, a press event in Dublin was canceled, immediately causing widespread panic among fight fans.
Initially, the panic appeared to be misguided with Ariel Helwani expressing “great positivity” that the fight would move forward. Even Michael Chandler went on record saying that the fight was moving forward as scheduled.
That no longer appears to be the case as Helwani is now reporting that the promotion is frantically putting out feelers in hopes of finding either a replacement opponent for ‘Iron’ or a night fight altogether.
It’s not 100% off but I’d be extremely surprised at this point if it remains and they are actively negotiating with multiple camps to find a replacement. It’s all up in the air still but they are proceeding at this time like they need a replacement. https://t.co/eAPXGs7KmJ
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 13, 2024
