YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has pitched a fight between two of his own desired opponents, UFC superstars Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal.
While both McGregor and Masvidal’s statuses as two of the top names in mixed martial arts remain intact, their form inside the Octagon has been far from desirable.
For the Irishman, back-to-back defeats to Dustin Poirier have left him 1-3 across his last four appearances. The former two-division titleholder has been out of action since breaking his leg at UFC 264 last July.
Masvidal, meanwhile, has followed up his incredible 2019 by losing three straight, two of which came to reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman. Most recently, “Gamebred” fell to a three-fight skid after falling short in his grudge match with Colby Covington at UFC 272 this past weekend.
Pausing his own search for a next opponent and hopes to fight the pair, Paul, who’s gone 5-0 in boxing since venturing to the ring as a professional in 2020, donned his UFC matchmaking hat.
In a post on Twitter, “The Problem Child,” who has frequently taken shots at both men, most recently in his Dana White diss track, suggested that a meeting between Masvidal and McGregor is the fight to make.
“We already know Conor can’t finish Diaz. Right fight to make is Masvidoll vs macgregor. 50/50 fight, ends in KO. Both can throw and both have weak chins”
Masvidal vs. McGregor Has Been On The Radar Before
McGregor and Masvidal have long engaged in a rivalry over social media and in interviews. After “Gamebred” rose to stardom in 2019, it appeared the pair were perhaps gearing up to share the Octagon together.
However, UFC President Dana White pumped the breaks on that idea after suggesting Masvidal is “too big” for McGregor, who, according to him, doesn’t belong at welterweight.
With that in mind, Masvidal’s manager, Ibrahim Kawa, claimed the UFC asked his client to drop to lightweight to collide with the “Notorious” megastar, a discussion that fizzled out when McGregor did, in fact, move up to 170 pounds, but to fight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone instead.
While Masvidal has previously insinuated that McGregor wants no part of a fight with him, the Miami native certainly left the door open for the matchup to come together down the line. Perhaps now is the time.
Masvidal finds himself in a tricky position following UFC 272. Given his stardom, he’s certainly grown into a position whereby the promotion will target for him to continue being a part of pay-per-view main events. For him to do that, there are few available names beyond McGregor and Nate Diaz.
However, “Gamebred” has made it clear he maintains title aspirations and is targeting a trilogy with Usman down the line. For that to happen, he’ll need to fight an appropriate welterweight contender. If that is the next step, it stands to reason Masvidal would have to settle for a main card slot against a name like former rival Stephen Thompson, Neil Magny, or the loser of Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev.
It will be interesting to see which direction the UFC chooses to go in, but Paul’s idea is certainly conceivable, especially if McGregor is snubbed of a lightweight title shot upon his return.
Do you agree with Jake Paul? Would you like to see Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor collide inside the Octagon?
