McGregor looms over UFC at MSG
There is so much happening on the periphery of Saturday’s main event at UFC 244 at the Garden.
President Trump is expected to be in attendance, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is scheduled to hand out the fictitious belt for the “Baddest MotherF---er” to the winner between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.
Not to mention the looming possibility the winner of the bout could fight come-backing dual former champion Conor McGregor at some point in 2020 following McGregor’s planned tune-up Jan. 18 in Las Vegas.
“Conor’s done amazing things in the sport,” Masvidal said Thursday at the Marriot Marquis. “I try to give credit where credit is due. He’s got two belts. He’s got the fastest knockout, with the title.
“He’s done a lot of great things, but as of late, he hasn’t competed in a while.”
McGregor’s last f ight came against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229 in October 2018, a title bout he lost via fourth-round submission. Twice since March, he has been the subject of investigations for sexual assault in Ireland.
The winner of Masvidal-Diaz also could be in line for a title shot against current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, but a bout with McGregor figures to be a more lucrative payday for either fighter.
“If he comes back and fights and fights whoever he fights and wins, and wants to fight me, of course I’m gonna fight that guy over everybody,” said Masvidal, who never has opposed McGregor in 47 pro fights (34-13). “Just like I’m gonna fight Nate. Because Nate’s a huge dog. And he also brings in dollar bills.
“Conor’s the same. He’s a fighter. He might not be the toughest guy out there. But he’s a hell of a fighter and he brings in millions of dollars. So of course I’m gonna fight that guy over all these other bums. It’s a no-brainer, man, but is he fighting? I don’t know.”
There similarly were questions as recently as last week whether this “BMF” match would take place. Diaz had tweeted last Thursday that the bout was in jeopardy after he was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for a potential drug infraction, but the UFC and USADA cleared him of any impropriety over the weekend.
Diaz, 34, defeated McGregor via submission at UFC 196 in March 2016, but then lost the rematch by majority decision at UFC 202 five months later. He said Thursday he’s only concentrating on the pending fight with Masvidal, and earning the “BMF” belt from Johnson.
“That would be cool. I’m a big fan of The Rock,” Diaz said. “But it would be cool if Mike Tyson was here, too. Wasn’t he the baddest motherf---er on the planet? That’d be cool, too.”
Masvidal also thinks it will be “pretty cool” for Trump to be in attendance, as UFC president Dana White is a well-known supporter.
“Whatever your political views are, whether he’s made the country better or worse, it’s a president, the President of the United States, it’s my country, that’s allowed me to do this, to have a room packed full of people … from me fighting and selling out the arena, it’s a great honor bestowed on me,” said Masvidal, who hails from Miami. “No matter what your views are of Trump as a president, the guy’s a bad motherf---er, man.
“The money that he’s made, the obstacles that he’s conquered, he’s a bad mother---er in his own way. And who’s he coming to see? ... But I don’t want to get too much into politics, a lot of my Latin community might be upset at me.”
Masvidal instead will channel that anger towards Diaz, although both fighters mostly avoided trash talk at Thursday’s presser.
“It’s all legacy. It’s all heart and drive. I’ve said it many times, I don’t think Nate is the most skilled, but he’s the biggest dog the sport has ever seen, and that to me right there says a lot,” Masvidal said. “That’s a guy that I want to be like, and I want to beat that guy.
“He’s literally, the best way to describe him is a fighting dog, and the best way to fight a fighting dog is to put him down.”