Will Jake Paul team up with rival Conor McGregor for Fighter's Union?
CLEVELAND, OHIO: Former referee turned analyst, John McCarthy, believes Jake Paul would organize MMA fighters much more effortlessly if he had Conor McGregor's support. Paul initially introduced the concept of starting MMA's first Fighter Union prior to his boxing battle with Anderson Silva.
Despite the fact that Paul was chosen as the winner by a unanimous vote, 'The Spider' has said he will still support such initiatives. However, it doesn't appear that any significant advancement has been made on the project as of yet.
‘That would have an impact in making the union’
In a recent solo episode of the podcast 'Weighing In', McCarthy acknowledged the challenges Paul is facing. This comes after the 'problem child' revealed that the Fighter's Union endeavor is a little trickier than he had anticipated.
“What’s the one thing you hear Josh [Thomson] talking about with fighters all the time?” McCarthy asked. “If you wanna be a fighter, you have to be selfish. Well, they are. Everything’s about them, and they don’t care about other people and stuff. This is all about what’s mine, what I can get? What’s the next fight in line, how much am I gonna get for that fight?” he said.
Paul finds it difficult to persuade fighters to maybe give up part of their own money to become a union, but McCarthy is confident he can if he can simply gather the appropriate numbers to back the cause.
'If you had a Jon Jones, that would have a huge impact'
“You need a – quite a few of the big names. If you have a Conor McGregor, - huge name within the sport - that would have an impact in making the union. If you had a Jon Jones, that would have a huge impact. But you need those top people, you need the ones that have some semblance of power and some semblance of power within the UFC. That’s not an easy thing, and there are only a few people that have that,” he added.
Some fighters have cited McGregor's individual success as a reason why they'd prefer to continue focusing on their own careers and hopefully make a sizable amount of money in the process, despite the fact that he's the biggest star in MMA history and his support would almost certainly be a major benefit for any effort to create a union.
Paul's vow to organize a union for MMA fighters is still up in the air, and as his August 5 boxing showdown against former UFC championship challenger Nate Diaz approaches, the 26-year-old is certain to face more inquiries on the matter.
