2020 is finally here and it’s set to be a massive year for Ireland’s enfant terrible. Conor McGregor is coming back. He’ll fight Donald Cerrone is less than three weeks. He lost to Khabib Nurmagamedov over a year ago and hasn’t fought since. Nobody knows what version of McGregor we’re going to get.
But the big question is what does McGregor want to achieve? He’s already been a two-division champion. Does he really have the hunger and the drive to slog his way into title contention again? Or does have another motive? According to Dana White, McGregor has his eyes on the BMF title.
After a year of legal woes and controversy, McGregor wants to remind the world what he does best. Slinging another title over his shoulder would definitely be a way to do that. Of course, he has to get past the genuinely dangerous threat of 170lb Cerrone. ‘Cowboy’ would love nothing more than to end the Irishman’s career.
"We're not here to take part, we're here to take over!"@TheNotoriousMMA's journey has been a wild one … and it gets a new chapter in January 🍿 (via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/M5rXbxo4uo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 28, 2019
Threat
There’s no doubt that Masvidal would represent a unique threat to McGregor. His physicality would be unlike anything the Irishman has faced standing up. When McGregor fought as a featherweight, he cut a lot of weight. But he had a massive power advantage over his foes. Going up to welterweight definitely stifles this advantage. White thinks it’s a bad idea.
“Conor has this idea, too, that if things don’t go his way and he doesn’t get the fight with Khabib, he’ll have had a 170 fight in his pocket again and is considering a Jorge Masvidal fight,” White said. “I think everybody knows what I think about it. I think it’s a bad idea.”
BMF Title
The original BMF title fight was between Masvidal and another former McGregor foe, Nate Diaz. Masvidal got the win on the night after an entertaining war saw Diaz lose by doctor’s stoppage. But despite the fact that Diaz hung tough, Masvidal was clearly putting a beating on him. It was supposed to be one and done, but there’s a good chance that the UFC will bring it back one day.
“Conor wants that belt from Masvidal,” White said. “I did it as a one-off and like I said, it was fun. It was awesome. We’ll see what happens.”
That last sentence should tell you all you need to know about this potential situation. If they can make money, then the UFC will make it happen.
Waiting Game
According to White, McGregor gets infuriated when he’s told it’s a bad idea. Nobody has a bigger opinion of his own abilities than the Irishman. Self-belief helped him rise to the top, but there’s still no doubt that this would be an incredibly dangerous fight for him. Masvidal possesses genuine power in his punches like no other fighter ‘The Notorious’ has faced.
“Conor gets p***ed off when I say it’s a bad idea, and he’s like, ‘You think I can’t beat Masvidal?’ I’m not saying you can’t beat Masvidal. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, but why? Why go after that fight when you could possibly just wait?”
You can bet that McGregor would love to have that shiny belt sitting on his shelf though.
