Former UFC welterweight title contender and current BMF title holder, Jorge Masvidal, has revealed that Conor McGregor has ‘shot down’ a fight with him. The American MMA star is frustrated that the Irishman doesn’t want to fight him as a loss could be ‘bad for his brand’.
Jorge Masvidal: McGregor ‘Shot Down’ A Fight With Me
Jorge Masvidal has revealed in a recent interview that Conor McGregor has ‘shot down’ a fight with him next. The 38-year-old has claimed that the Irishman doesn’t want to damage his brand and is afraid that a loss would be bad for his name.
The fight was beginning to get talked about as McGregor has been seen back in training on his Instagram. The former two-weight UFC champion is set to return to the octagon this year, but it now seems unlikely that Masvidal will be his opponent. Instead, it seems that ‘Notorious’ has opted for a contest against Tony Ferguson.
Masvidal has called McGregor out on numerous occasions in the past, and it looks like his ambitions to fight the Irishman won’t come true again. The Florida man has resigned to the fact that a clash between the pair will never happen.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani for the MMA Hour, Masvidal revealed that he wants the McGregor fight, but that his Irish counterpart has no interest in fighting ‘Gamebred’:
“I want Conor, but Conor doesn’t want me, it sucks.
“He just doesn’t want it. Every time the UFC’s brought it up, he shoots it down. I don’t know why. I think I’m bigger, I think I’m quicker than him, and we both know I hit harder than him.
“So, I get it, stylistically, it’s not the best for him or his brand.
“Not only am I going to beat the f***ing brakes off of him, but I’m going to do it in a way that’s not good for his brand. I’m going to do it on my feet.”
Jorge Masvidal on a fight against Conor McGregor: “He just doesn’t want it. Every time the UFC’s brought it up, he shuts it down” 👀 #TheMMAHour
“I think I’m bigger, I think I’m quicker than him, we both know I hit harder than him.”
▶️ https://t.co/exUGTJ3qJj pic.twitter.com/Nfy96hXYbM
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 30, 2023
Conor McGregor To Coach Ultimate Fighter With Tony Ferguson Bout Looming
As previously mentioned, it seems that McGregor could be on course for a clash with UFC veteran Tony Ferguson instead. Not only that, it has been rumoured that McGregor and Ferguson are set to coach on the next ‘Ultimate Fighter’ series in the second half of the year.
If this is the case, it looks that UFC fans could get a McGregor vs Ferguson fight at the back end of the year. As of yet, the UFC haven’t made any official announcement, but it is rumoured that ‘Notorious’ has already accepted the role as ‘The ultimate Fighter’ coach for the second time.
Both of these men are in poor form in their respective MMA careers. ‘El Cucuy’ looks like he is on the verge of retirement having lost his last five UFC fights on the spin, three of which were stoppages. McGregor himself has won just once since 2016 and could see Ferguson as a beatable opponent after the California man’s sharp decline.
Ferguson may view the McGregor fight as one final payday, with the Irishman seeing it as an opportunity to get back to winning ways ahead of a big 2024 in the UFC. Hopefully the fight gets made and then we see McGregor fight someone like Jorge Masvidal, Michael Chandler or even UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards next year.
Fingers crossed Conor McGregor is back in action at some stage later this year. UFC fans can avail of various UFC free bets by checking out the SportsLens website.