The new year would be massive for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as its biggest draw, Conor McGregor, is planning to fight three times in the Octagon.
Already set is the Irishman’s highly-anticipated return after more than a year of hiatus as he meets Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246 on January 18.
This marks his first appearance in the welterweight division since his back-to-back fights against Nate Diaz in 2016.
Aiming to get back on title contention, the former two-division champion said he is eyeing to fight another welterweight and is hopeful to win to set up a rematch with his fierce rival, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
And just recently, UFC president Dana White confirmed that ‘The Notorious’ is seriously setting his sights on capturing the ‘baddest motherf***er belt’ from its owner, Jorge Masvidal.
Bad Idea
Speaking to ESPN, the outspoken promotion chief revealed the Irishman is really interested in fighting ‘Gamebred,’ who won the ‘BMF’ title after defeating Nate Diaz in November.
“Conor has this idea, too, that if things don’t go his way and he [doesn’t] get the fight [with Khabib], he’ll have had a 170 fight in his pocket again and [is] considering a [Jorge] Masvidal fight,” White said, (transcript from MMA Fighting).
The UFC president has previously shot down this potential clash, saying Masvidal is too big for McGregor.
“I think everybody knows what I think about it. I think it’s a bad idea.”
“Conor gets pissed off when I say it’s a bad idea, and he’s like, ‘You think I can’t beat Masvidal?’ I’m not saying you can’t beat Masvidal.”
“Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, but why? Why go after that fight when you could possibly just wait?
“Conor wants that belt from Masvidal. I did it as a one-off [UFC 244] and like I said, it was fun. It was awesome. We’ll see what happens.”
Fighting Anybody
Despite seeing a size disadvantage against Masvidal, White has commended McGregor for his willingness to fight anyone in the cage – an attitude that makes him appealing to MMA fans.
“This is the reason Conor McGregor is so intriguing and why so many fans love to watch him fight,” White said.
“And you’ve got to love the fact that a guy is willing to fight anybody.”
“Believe me, I’ve said this a million times, I’ll say it again, I’ve been in the trenches and when we’re standing the living room and fights pull out, Conor McGregor will fight anybody.”
Would you like to see Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal fight for the ‘BMF’ belt?
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal)