Sean O'Malley offers to 'save UFC 303' and fight Jake Paul, faces off with 'The Problem Child'

With speculation flying that the Conor McGregor‘s UFC 303 return against Michael Chandler may be in jeopardy, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley offered to save the event by fighting influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul.  

“I’ll fight Jake Paul to save UFC 303,” O’Malley posted on social media on Wednesday.  Paul responded saying he’d ‘kill’ O’Malley in an MMA fight and called “Sugar” a ‘small man.’  

I’ll fight @jakepaul to save UFC 303

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) June 12, 2024

MMA fight before Tyson ✅ @PFLMMA https://t.co/D5OYICXUx2

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 12, 2024

100% will kill Omalley in MMA

He’s a small man

PFL Vs UFC June 29th

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 12, 2024

Of course, the two are signed to different fight promotions with O’Malley holding the UFC’s 135-pound title.  Paul is signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) but hasn’t made his MMA debut yet.  He competes in the cruiserweight division in boxing.  Although a match between the two is a virtual impossibility and wouldn’t be sanctioned by any athletic commission, the two didn’t let that stop them from facing off on Thursday. 

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

Paul was scheduled to take on Mike Tyson on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas but a medical scare forced the bout to be postponed until Nov. 15.  Paul is expected to still fight on the July fight card with reports swirling that he’s taking on Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s “Platinum” Mike Perry.  Paul last fought in March stopping Ryan Bourland in the first round.  

O’Malley is expected to meet top bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili later this year in his second title defense.  He successfully defended the belt at UFC 299 in March, defeated Marlon Vera in a one-sided unanimous decision.