Jorge Masvidal apparently tried to make a fight with Conor McGregor happen – but the Irishman seemingly turned it down. Masvidal hasn’t competed inside the Octagon since his loss to Colby Covington last year, marking his third-straight defeat inside the Octagon. Now, “Gamebred” is preparing to return to fighting action against Gilbert Burns this April.
Masvidal and Burns will co-headline the UFC 287 on April 8. However, it sounds like the BMF Champion was angling for a huge payday collision against, arguably, the biggest star the UFC has ever seen. McGregor himself has been sidelined for several months after suffering a broken leg. He has made huge strides in his recovery and is expected to fight sometime this year.
Jorge Masvidal Tried To Fight Conor McGregor
Speaking to The MMA Hour this week, Masvidal admitted that he wants to fight McGregor, and the UFC even offered it to the Irishman, however, he turned the fight down. The welterweight contender believes McGregor turned the fight down due to the bad stylistic matchup.
“I want Conor but Conor doesn’t want me. It sucks, you know? He just doesn’t want it. Every time the UFC brings it up he just shuts 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*cking breaks 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, you know?”
Masvidal is heavily intent on winning the UFC welterweight title, and has some work to do before getting there. However, he feels that with a big win over Burns in April, and if Edwards retains his title against Kamaru Usman in March, the stars will be aligned for Masvidal and Edwards to settle their bad-blood feud once and for all next up.
“2023 – you know. If you ask me 100 percent I think it happens. I think it’s just the way it’s meant to be. That’s how it’s lined up. And then from there, I got a lot of other fights, but we’ll talk about that when I get there. And why not believe in that? And if it doesn’t happen then f*ck it, I still trained my ass off for whoever is next.”