‘Hell no’: Dana White shuts down Jorge Masvidal’s ‘easy paycheck’ challenge to fight Conor McGregor

AP Photo/Eric Jamison

Jorge Masvidal is looking for his next opponent after knocking out Ben Askren in just five seconds — the fastest knockout in UFC history.
Masvidal had said he either wants a fight for the welterweight title or a big-money fight against Conor McGregor.
He’ll likely have to hope for a title-shot, as UFC president Dana White said "hell no" to a potential fight against McGregor.
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Jorge Masvidal is still riding the wave of his stunning, five-second knockout of Ben Askren, but Dana White was quick to cool off the hottest fighter in UFC.

Masvidal earned a "Performance of the Night" bonus at UFC 239 after his flying knee into the face of Askren resulted in the fastest knockout in UFC history. After the fight, Masvidal earned even more press for his bold statements, defending his decision to keep beating his opponent until the ref stopped the fight, and to taunt Askren after the fight was over.

Since then, Masvidal has turned his attention to his next potential fight, telling ESPN’s "The Dan Le Batard Show" that if he can’t get a title shot, then he wants Conor McGregor as his next opponent.

"I want McGregor," Masvidal said. "I want to break his face. I think that’s an easy paycheck. He’s got these cash symbols written all over his face for me. I just don’t see it going his way if I’m honest with you."

Masvidal has good reason to hope for a fight against McGregor — he’d have a solid advantage when it comes to size, and the fight would come with a paycheck. While Masvidal’s fame just skyrocketed into the mainstream thanks to his wild knockout, he’s a 16-year veteran of combat sports, and at 34 years old, one can never know how many solid paychecks are left in such a brutal profession.

But unfortunately for Masvidal, UFC president Dana White shot down the possibility of a mega-fight against McGregor in the near future.

"Hell no," White told TMZ. "Masvidal is too big for Conor."

White went on to explain that he’d prefer to keep Masvidal as a welterweight without forcing Conor to bulk up for a potential bout.

"There’s plenty of fights for [Masvidal] in his weight division without Conor," White said. "He’s too big for Conor. [McGregor] doesn’t belong at 170 [pounds]. He’s got the balls to fight at 170, but he doesn’t belong there."

With McGregor out of the picture, Masvidal will likely hope for a shot at welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who won the title from Tyron Woodley by decision in March.

As for McGregor, White said he expects the brash Irishman to make his return to the UFC either late this year or early next year, depending on the result of the upcoming fight between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and challenger Dustin Poirier.

"We’ll see how this whole thing plays out in September," White said. "No, [McGregor won’t get a rematch with Nurmagomedov], but it will shake a lot of things up whoever wins that fight."

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