Jake Paul‘s long-rumored MMA debut finally has a direction, and his promotion is aiming for the biggest name in combat sports history. On May 16, Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will collide under his MVP banner on Netflix. While the attention is on the blockbuster bout, the focus is shifting to Paul’s MMA debut. According to MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian, ‘El Gallo’ does plan to enter the cage, and Conor McGregor would be the ideal opponent.

As per Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian, they are interested in matchmaking Jake Paul vs. Conor McGregor in a two-fold plan. First, they proposed that both superstars would collide in a boxing ring, followed by a showdown inside a cage.

“Listen, I have the perfect idea,” Nakisa told TMZ. “We do the MMA fight with Jake and Conor, and then we do the boxing match with Jake and Conor, perfect co-promotion. The fans get one of the biggest back-to-back fights in history. Jake would love to fight Conor McGregor in MMA,” he added.

Over the years, Conor McGregor and Jake Paul have been rumored to fight each other multiple times. The two have traded verbal shots for years, but their fierce rivalry has yet to materialize in the boxing ring or MMA cage. Still, many fans and experts from both sides have wanted to see this matchup, possibly even as a hybrid event.

For instance, former WBA super middleweight champion George Groves also proposed a mixed showdown between McGregor and Paul featuring boxing, bare-knuckle, and wrestling. While those possibilities would definitely bring a ton of attention, there’s also a chance that the UFC might interfere with such plans.

Although there’s still high uncertainty around the former two-division champion’s UFC return, ‘The Notorious’ remains actively linked to the promotion. After the White House return fell through, McGregor reportedly hopes to come back during International Fight Week in July, where the UFC would likely want to keep its biggest star as the headliner. In that case, a fight against Jake Paul looks like an unattainable possibility right now.

While McGregor is the ideal opponent for MVP, Paul has his sights set on an old rival for his MMA debut: Nate Diaz.

Jake Paul wants to face Nate Diaz in MMA

Well, Jake Paul vs Conor McGregor fighting inside a cage does sound like one of the most lucrative events in MMA history. The 28-year-old already holds a win over Nate Diaz from 2023, when he defeated the UFC veteran in a boxing match via unanimous decision, so ‘El Gallo’ believes a potential fight against Nate Diaz would be perfect for his mixed martial arts debut.

“I love MMA, and I would be down to learn some kicks and some submission defense,” he said during Tuesday’s MVP presser at Intuit Dome. “I tried very, very hard multiple times with Nate Diaz to make that happen. I believe it’s the perfect fight for me in MMA,” he added.

The 28-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer already holds a win over Nate Diaz from 2023, when he defeated the UFC veteran in a boxing match via unanimous decision. After that, Paul called out the Stockton native for an MMA showdown while he was signed with the PFL. However, this year, ‘The Problem Child’ got out of his PFL contract without even competing in a single fight.

That said, as Jake Paul has now entered the MMA game with his own promotion, will he actually be able to arrange fights with other MMA stars quickly? Are we going to see him perform inside the cage anytime soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.