Conor McGregor has been implored to take on Jorge Masvidal, not Tony Ferguson, in his comeback fight this year after the Irishman teased a return to The Ultimate Fighter.
The legendary former two-weight world champion has been out of action for two years, but appears to be back to full health and nearing a return to the Octagon. On Thursday night, he teased that his comeback will be tied into an upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, with old rival Ferguson emerging as his potential opponent.
However, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping reckons that McGregor should fight Masvidal instead, given his star-power and legitimacy at the weight. The two-time title contender has been on a losing streak of late but still commands a massive amount of interest from fans.
"I thought Michael Chandler, but Jorge Masvidal? Masvidal's the one," Bisping told co-host Anthony Smith on their Believe You Me podcast, with the light-heavyweight agreeing. "If they could do that, it'd be massive. Because, number one, Masvidal doesn't take any cr*p. You know what I mean, he's got in my face many times, we've come so close to coming to blows when he's come at me.
"But we're good now. You've got to respect that about him, he's 'about that life', so to speak, and so is McGregor, if you will. That would be fireworks. I don't think McGregor will fight at 155lb anytime soon. So, a fight with Masvidal at 170lb, they're both strikers, in terms of a match-up, Conor could win, though it would be tough for him. That ticks all the boxes."
Smith agreed with the assessment, adding that it would be a "fantastic fight at the end" of The Ultimate Fighter. "I think Masvidal is just built for reality TV and he's so real," Smith noted. "Conor's so quick on his feet and Masvidal's kind of got that gangster mentality where nobody's going to f*** with him. I think that would be good TV, I actually like that better than the Michael Chandler one."
Would you rather see Conor McGregor face Jorge Masvidal or Tony Ferguson? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
McGregor previously coached on the show in 2015 when he took on Urijah Faber, although that season was a rare occurrence where the coaches didn't end up fighting. At that stage, the Irishman was the interim featherweight champion and had a date with Jose Aldo already booked, while Faber was a top contender down at bantamweight.
Nowadays, McGregor is a much bigger star and one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. This, Bisping fears, could cause a problem for the UFC, who would need to stump up record payouts for he and Masvidal to take seven weeks to shoot the show in Las Vegas before they fight.
"I don't know if they can afford it," Bisping noted after the idea was floated. "Look, the UFC can afford Conor, of course they can. But for him to give up as long as it takes to go to Vegas? He'd want something like b***** $3-5million, I don't know if he'd get that. Look, it's none of our business."
