Dana White responds to Jorge Masvidal vs. Conor McGregor talk

UFC President Dana White has responded to talk of a potential super fight between UFC stars Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor.

Masvidal fought at UFC 251 last weekend, taking on UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on just six days’ notice. While Masvidal put up forth valiant effort, he wound up losing the fight by unanimous decision.

Despite the loss, Masvidal’s stock doesn’t seem to have dropped at all. In fact, after UFC 251 reportedly sold 1.3 million pay-per-views, he’s being touted as one of the biggest stars in the promotion’s history.

In the wake of UFC 251, there’s been much speculation as to what will come next for Masvidal, with a Kamaru Usman rematch being one option, and fights with the likes of Leon Edwards and Colby Covington also being discussed.

Perhaps the most compelling option of all, however, is a fight with former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor, far and away the biggest star in MMA history.

While McGregor has realized his best success in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, he’s competed three times in Masvidal’s welterweight division. That includes his most recent contest, a 40-second execution over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Speaking to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Dana White addressed the fan appetite for a Jorge Masvidal vs. Conor McGregor fight. The UFC boss reminded that McGregor is currently retired. While many fans and pundits doubt the Irishman’s retirement will last, White, at least at the moment, seems to consider the Irishman’s retirement permanent.

 

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“Conor McGregor’s retired,” White said.

White was then asked whether McGregor is still in the United States Anti-Doping Agency testing pool, which would seemingly imply he’s keeping the door open for a comeback with somebody like Masvidal. White conceded that McGregor is probably still in the testing pool, but downplayed the significance of that fact.

“Probably,” White said. “But people have retired and stayed in the testing pool. It has happened before. And then they get tired of it and bail out of it.”

Do you think Dana White should book a fight between Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal?