Getty Images UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
Fight fans have wanted to see Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor face off in the UFC octagon for quite some time and there may not be a better time than right now.
Both boisterous fighters are on losing streaks and McGregor appears to have gained some weight in his rehab from a broken leg, making a matchup a little more realistic. Chael Sonnen thinks now is the time to make the scrap happen.
“People are just forgetting, they’re taking Dana [White] at his word when he said he’d never make the fight,” Sonnen said on The Chael Sonnen Show. “Well, that was because he (Masvidal) was too big.
“Conor’s a 155-pounder, Conor’s now up at 170 pounds and he’s showing pictures on Instagram that he weighs 194. I think now is the time, I think International Fight Week is the date, let’s get McGregor-Masvidal done once and for all.”
Masvidal, McGregor Have Been Linked Previously
Back in 2019 the duo traded barbs, with a then-streaking Masvidal seeing a big payday in McGregor.
“I want McGregor,” Masvidal told Dan LeBatard. “I want to break his face. I think that’s an easy paycheck. He’s got these cash symbols written all over his face for me. I just don’t see it going his way if I’m honest with you.
“He backs down. He taps. I’ve never tapped in my whole entire career,” Masvidal continued. “He’s tapped a couple times so that’s backing down in my book. It’s something I’ve never done and I feel like I’d break him. It would be an easy fight.”
Masvidal dropped his fight against Colby Covington at UFC 272 over the weekend and hasn’t won a fight since 2019.
There’s always been the sentiment that Masvidal is too big for McGregor, but Malki Kawa — Masvidal’s manager — assured that’s no longer the case.
“I saw McGregor in Dublin. He’s not small,” he wrote. “He looked like he walks around 195-200lbs jacked.”
McGregor needs a win of his own, going just 1-3 in his last four fights. He beat Donald Cerrone in 2020 but you’d have to go back to 2016 to find his previous UFC win. A matchup with Masvidal would make sense, considering neither would be eager to take the fight to the ground.
Another staunch supporter of McGregor and Masvidal facing off is YouTube boxer and internet troll Jake Paul.
“We already know Conor can’t finish Diaz. Right fight to make is Masvidoll vs Macgregor. 50/50 fight, ends in KO,” Paul tweeted. “Both can throw and both have weak chins.”
Conor McGregor on Mend From Broken Leg
McGregor suffered a nasty broken leg in his last fight against Dustin Poirier but is well on his way back.
“Day 3 back boxing without issue,” McGregor posted on Instagram this week. “Soon this injury will be a distant memory on my Martial Arts journey. No one has a road without bumps – but winning is about a positive attitude and determination and hard work. I am back and only getting better.”
Who knows what the next step is for McGregor, although whatever the Irishman decides to do will bring massive attention.