Anthony Smith not sold on Jake Paul claiming he’d KO Conor McGregor in MMA: “He’d get barbecued”
Anthony Smith doesn’t believe Jake Paul would stand a chance against Conor McGregor in an MMA bout.
Paul has been known to ruffle the feathers of many MMA fighters. One of them is McGregor, who Paul has been trying to sway into a bout either in boxing or MMA. Jake told TMZ that he’d knock McGregor out in the first round even under MMA rules.
During a chat with Damon Martin on MMAFighting.com‘s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Anthony Smith said Jake Paul would be dead in the water in an MMA bout with Conor McGregor.
“First of all, Conor’s half his size right now. People do miss that. Jake’s a big dude and he’s fighting short, stocky, wrestler welterweights. Jake Paul’s my size. He’s a big goddamn dude. He’s way north of 200 pounds. Him fighting Conor in a boxing match, that would probably be a pretty good fight, to be honest with you. But is he going to knock him out in an MMA fight? No. Not when Conor gets kicking — he’s going to kick Jake Paul’s head right off his shoulders.
“People say that Jake can wrestle a little bit so [he] might be able to keep it a little bit competitive for a minute or so. But no, in an MMA fight, he’s going to get barbecued.”
Smith then went on to say that Paul continues to call out McGregor for clout.
“He’s getting headlines, I get it. He’s playing a game. He’s keeping Conor in his mouth because it’s beneficial to him.”
Paul doesn’t have MMA experience but he is 5-0 as a pro boxer. He last competed back in Dec. 2021, knocking out former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley.
McGregor has been sidelined due to suffering a broken tibia and fibula. He sustained the injury during his July 2021 trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier. McGregor is targeting a return sometime this year.
