‘It’s sad’: UFC’s McGregor tells Mayweather to ‘f*ck off’ and taunts boxing great over money after ‘embarrassing’ Jake Paul scrap

Conor McGregor has weighed in on the shocking brawl between Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul, directing crude insults at his former opponent while claiming he is in the "drain" and would make far more money through a "real" fight.

Sporting icon Mayweather and YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul were involved in a huge scrap after the 24-year-old stole the veteran's cap when they came face-to-face at the press conference for the former champion's fight with Paul's brother, Logan.

That was all the invitation McGregor, who changed disciplines from MMA to boxing to lose to Mayweather in one of the most lucrative fights of all time in 2017, needed to accuse his old rival of acting shamefully.

"What the f*ck is Floyd at?" asked the UFC megastar, directing his initial question at Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions.

"The kid [Paul] curled up, didn’t fight back once, and Floyd is still running around acting the tough guy."

That amounted to an interesting interpretation of a situation in which Paul had placed himself center stage at a press call that was not his own, whispering to a camera that he intended to thieve Mayweather's cap before duly carrying out the incendiary deed.

"The kid actually just pulled this shambles of a situation Floyd is in out of the drain for him," McGregor said, suggesting that Mayweather needs the money and is picking easy opponents.

"He should thank him. It’s embarrassing. Pro to pro, it’s embarrassing. He will not scratch 10 million for this fight and he knows it.

"It was canceled once already [in January, before being rescheduled for June 6]. The world is watching this on Twitter. He’d fight a half-decent pro and command 20 million upwards, yet it's this sh*t."

McGregor signed off his latest rant by alluding to the slap he placed on Mayweather's head during the fierce press conferences that preceded their bout.

"Whatever way you spin this, it’s sad," he said. "Fight someone for real, on your record, or f*ck off, mate. Slap head."

Paul responded "gotcha hat" – the words he said to Mayweather as he swiped his cap, and which he has already turned into branding for merchandise in a logo that he seems certain to endlessly trot out over forthcoming months.

The loudmouth took to social media to show fans that he has already had the cringeworthy catchphrase tattooed on his arm, while others backing McGregor in comments on his post included UFC hall-of-famer Urijah Faber and Dillon Danis, one of the Irishman's teammates.

"They should thank for you for even posting this," said the man known for his explosive part in the aftermath to McGregor's defeat against Khabib Nurmagomedov, responding to his idol in typically sycophantic style.