Esther Lin/MMA Fighting
Conor McGregor continues to make noise on the internet following UFC 244, but his ability to turn his demands into reality has clearly taken a hit.
Conor McGregor continues to tweet up a storm, challenging this fighter and that to bouts that never materialize. His latest social media contribution to the conversation came following UFC 244 where he responded to some pretty fiery words from BMF champ Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal once again questioned Conor’s willingness to sign a fight against him.
”You know what the f**k I’ll do to that little dude, bro,” Masvidal said. “I’ll f**k that little guy up, man. He’s a f**king midget.”
The next day McGregor got this ‘zinger’ back:
Hey @BurgerKing, could I get a 3 piece with soda and a side chicken box please? Loads of salt and vinegar. Thanks
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 3, 2019
”Hey Burger King, could I get a 3 piece with soda and a side chicken box please?” he wrote. “Loads of salt and vinegar. Thanks.”
Chances of this fight getting put together any time soon? Zero.
At this point, Masvidal’s doubts about McGregor ever stepping into the UFC Octagon again seems pretty well founded. When ESPN’s Brett Okamoto spoke to Dana White following UFC 244 regarding McGregor’s announcement of a January return, the UFC president once again made it clear that it’s as vaporous as all of McGregor’s other recent fight declarations.
”There’s literally nothing done,” White said. “All the talk of Cowboy, Cerrone hasn’t even called. “Cowboy” Cerrone sent me a text today saying ‘I hope all this chatter is true.’ There’s literally nothing going on with Conor McGregor right now.”
Does White consider Cerrone a logical opponent? “Yeah, I do.”
Is Cerrone the most likely next opponent? “I don’t know.”
There’s clearly something going on here between the UFC and Conor McGregor where talks on a return have stalled and McGregor is left trying to maneuver the UFC into a position where they feel pressured into giving him what he wants. More money, we’ll assume. And I don’t doubt McGregor’s earnest desire to step back into the cage. He’s clearly training way too hard for this to be the actions of a multi-millionaire just goofing around for publicity’s sake. But I do doubt his ability to force the UFC into compensating him properly.
The UFC, for their part, have never had a star they weren’t willing to bench over the number of zeros on their paycheck. And right now, sitting McGregor out probably sounds like a pretty good idea considering he’s got two (two!) serious allegations of sexual assault as reported by the New York Times hanging over his head.
All credit to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, he actually defied the unspoken rule about bringing those up and asked White about the stories.
”It’s obviously not fun, I mean it’s not good stuff,” White said. “It’s not stuff that we’re excited to hear. And he just pleaded guilty to this other thing too. So yeah, there’s nothing going on right now and when there is I’ll let you guys know.”