New Jake Paul rival emerges from unlikely source as money questioned

Conor Daly, the NASCAR and IndyCar hotshot, has joined the queue of potential contenders eager to take on .

Following Paul's victory over , 58, in an eight-round dust-up at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Daly seems to fancy his chances for a lucrative punch-up. Post-fight, Paul, 27, set his sights on snagging a brawl with ex-UFC champion under mixed martial arts regulations, throwing down the gauntlet to McGregor.

"I know you told my team you would fight me at 170 pounds," said Paul on X. "That's never happening. But let's run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won't."

Quick to jump into the fray, Daly hinted he'd be game if the prize money could bankroll his racing pursuits. "Will it pay enough to fund my IndyCar season, Jake?" he joked online. "Because, if so..."

Racer magazine clocks the IndyCar operational cost between a cool $6 million to $8 million annually - a figure not outside the financial firepower of Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, known to handsomely compensate both marquee and undercard fighters. Paul nabbed $40 million for his latest ring endeavor, with Tyson bagging a neat $20 million.

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano both pocketed seven-figure sums for their participation in a bout that's being called a Fight of the Year contender, which saw Taylor triumph with a unanimous decision. Following the fight, Serrano hinted on social media that her paycheck was even "bigger" than the estimated $6.1 million that Taylor reportedly bagged.

A statement from Most Valuable Promotions revealed a staggering 50 million households watched the Serrano vs Taylor rematch, peaking at a massive 65 million concurrent viewers during the Tyson vs Paul match-up. The event raked in $18 million in gate receipts as a whopping crowd of 72,300 filled the stands.

Yet Paul was widely criticised for fighting a man more than three decades older than him. "I don’t care what people have to say," said Paul after the fight. "They’re always going to have something to say. It is what it is."

Paul also admitted to taking his foot off the gas against Tyson, who struggled throughout the fight. He added: "Definitely (took my foot off the gas) a bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt."

Paul's next opponent remains a mystery, but he's getting nods from the boxing , with the WBA expressing willingness to let Paul vie for a championship and floating the name of ex-middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr as a potential adversary.

Paul boasts an impressive career record of 11 victories, including 7 knockouts, with his lone loss coming via decision to .