Jorge Masvidal wants to welcome Conor McGregor back to the octagon later this year and has promised to "break" the Irishman's face in a potential fight.
McGregor has been sidelined since breaking his tibia against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last July. 11 months has passed has since the fight and McGregor is now able to kick with his compromised leg, but he is still doubtful to fight for the rest of this year.
Masvidal and McGregor have traded verbal barbs recently with the former two-weight champion branding 'Gamebred' a "pigeon brain". Masvidal fired back at the insult by accusing McGregor of being too "scared" to accept a fight against him.
With UFC boss Dana White confirming that Masvidal and bitter rival Colby Covington's ongoing legal situation won't affect the pair from competing, Masvidal has issued a targeting date for a fight against McGregor. “I think November or December is looking good for me,” he said on the Blockasset YouTube channel.
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“I just want to break Conor’s face. Let’s get that paycheck, let’s get that out of the way, sell the most pay-per-views ever before this guy does harm to himself or somebody else. And I just like “boom,” get that check real quick cause I got kids, right? I need the f—king money.
Masvidal turned to Gilbert Burns as another potential opponent if he is unable to secure a fight with McGregor. Burns was involved in one of the best fights of this year against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 in April, taking the Chechen the distance for the first time in his career.
“If I can’t get Conor, I’m thinking probably Gilbert [Burns]," he continued. "Gilbert’s a good fight for me. I like him as a fighter because he comes to fight. He’s gonna submit a guy or knock a guy the f*** out. We’re gonna give the fans a f****ng bloody fight if that goes down. I think everybody will be very happy with that fight so that’s a fight I’d love to make.”
Masvidal's lead coach Mike Brown, who coaches several other UFC stars such as Dustin Poirier and Amanda Nunes, thinks a fight between Masvidal and McGregor would attract the biggest numbers of any card in UFC history.
McGregor took issue with comments made by Brown and issued a scathing response to the former WEC champion, writing: "Mike Brown is a little smell bag. Never a champ. Never produced one. Take a shower Mike the pong of B.O off you."