NEW YORK – Jorge Masvidal thinks it would be a terrible mistake by the UFC brass to pit him against Conor McGregor in the future.
After defeating Nate Diaz by third-round TKO to win the “BMF” title on Saturday in the UFC 244 headliner, Masvidal’s (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) star is shining brighter than ever. All sorts of opportunities are on the horizon for him, and while he hasn’t earned a UFC win in nearly three years, McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) remains arguably the most viable name in the sport.
McGregor has said he intends on making his return from a more than yearlong hiatus at an unannounced UFC card in Las Vegas on Jan. 18. He does not have an opponent set yet, though, and when proposed with the idea of fighting “The Notorious,” Masvidal minced no words.
“(He’s going to) come back to what? Like fighting in the cage? I don’t know man,” Masvidal told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 244 post-event news conference. “That dude has been talking wild for a second. If he fights and gets a victory and he wants this – and some of you mother(expletives) are mean because you know what the (expletive) I’ll do to that little dude, bro. I’ll (expletive) that little guy up man. He’s a (expletive) midget.”
This isn’t the first time discussion of a Masvidal vs. McGregor fight has come up. There was speculation of a potential pairing after Masvidal scored his memorable knockout of Ben Askren at UFC 239 in July, but UFC president Dana White poured cold water on the idea, claiming “Gamebred” was too big for the Irishman.
White deflected when the idea of the fight was brought up during his post-UFC 244 media session, and that tells Masvidal all he needs to know.
Masvidal relishes the idea of potentially being able to punch McGregor in the face, but he’s struggling to see a scenario in which the matchup comes to fruition.
“Dana White, the president of this mother(expletive) company, said I’m too much man for him,” Masvidal said. “I get it why people want to see him hurt for the stunts he’s been pulling, but he doesn’t want this (expletive). He’s just talking so he can get his name out there. He was cheering for Nate. He wanted to run it back with Nate. You think he’s at home seeing that fight thinking, ‘I want to fight that dude.’ That dude ain’t retarded.
“You see he punches old people in the face because those are fights he could win. He don’t want this (expletive). I don’t think Dana is going to promote that fight because you can’t get that guy to sign the paper.”
Jorge Masvidal says Conor McGregor matchup would be cruel: 'I'll (expletive) that little guy up'