Recently Jorge Masvidal let it be known that he wants to fight Conor McGregor, and since then, Joe Rogan’s weighed in on the potential showdown. As noted above, it doesn’t sound like Rogan would be betting the farm on McGregor to win…
Due to Masvidal’s electrifying, KO win over Ben Askren at UFC 239, “Gamebred” is likely the front runner right now to challenge welterweight champ, Kamaru Usman next. But, while talking about his future recently, Masvidal relayed that if he can’t fight Usman next, he wants to “break” the “face” of McGregor…
Masvidal’s comments quickly fired around the internet, and as a result, Rogan commented on the potential match-up during his podcast. Here’s some of what the veteran commentator had to say (quotes via MMA Mania):
“That’s a rough fight for Conor,” Rogan began. “Masvidal is a big fella too. He really belongs at 170 [pounds], that’s where he’s fighting. He fought at 155, but really tortured himself to make that weight. He’s a big guy. You’re talking about a guy that knocked out ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, knocked out Darren Till, knocked out Ben Askren. I mean, he’s knocking out big welterweights — big. Darren Till is a big welterweight. He’s big. He’s not a guy coming up from 155 pounds. He’s never making 155 pounds.
“In the last few fights, [Masvidal] is coming into his own, really becoming something special.”
It would be really interesting to see how Masvidal – McGregor would unfold. Is Masvidal a worse match-up, however, for McGregor than say, Khabib Nurmagomedov? In terms of being a knockout threat, sure. But, from a stylistic perspective, maybe not right? But, that’s not to say Rogan’s completely offbase by saying it could be a “rough fight” for McGregor.
All this aside, as it stands right now, there’s nothing pointing to this fight happening. Would McGregor want to step out of the lightweight division to face Masvidal? At first glance, he doesn’t have much to gain by taking on “Gamebred”, other than a truckload of cash. But, any fight he takes is going to deliver a nice big check.
How about Masvidal – McGregor for a 165-pound title? Sure, Dana White’s said that division isn’t going to happen, but chances are McGregor would jump at the opportunity to win a third UFC title.