5 beatable opponents for Conor McGregor at welterweight

#4. Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal would be a dangerous foe for Conor McGregor - but he might also be beatable

On the face of it, the idea of Conor McGregor stepping up to 170 pounds to take on a fighter who has fought for the UFC welterweight title on two occasions in the past two years might sound insane.

However, a clash between ‘The Notorious’ and Jorge Masvidal might make more sense than it initially seems to. What’s more, it could actually be a winnable bout for the Irishman too.

Masvidal has been on an excellent run in the UFC, running through Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz since returning to action in early 2019.

However, nobody really knows how ‘Gamebred’ will look in his first fight back following his brutal knockout loss to Kamaru Usman. There’s every chance that the knockout has changed his career for the worse, particularly when it comes to his durability.

More to the point, unlike some of the welterweight division’s other fighters, Masvidal would be highly likely to simply stand and exchange blows with Conor McGregor, rather than look to take the Irishman down. Given that Masvidal primarily uses a boxing arsenal to win his fights, that could be music to the ears of the Dublin native.

Could Conor McGregor defeat Masvidal in a straight-up shootout? It’s hard to say, but you’d probably give him a speed and accuracy advantage in terms of his punches. That, coupled with Masvidal’s potentially compromised chin, it’d definitely give him a chance.

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#3. Conor McGregor vs. Neil Magny

Neil Magny isn't the UFC welterweight division's biggest name, but he could provide Conor McGregor with a ticket to title contention

Neil Magny might not be the biggest star in the UFC welterweight division right now, but ‘The Haitian Sensation’ is definitely one of the best fighters in the promotion at 170 pounds.

Currently, following his May victory over Geoff Neal, Magny is ranked No.7 in the division. That means that despite his lesser name value, he could be a viable opponent for Conor McGregor.

Essentially, a win over Magny might not stand out like McGregor’s wins over Jose Aldo or Eddie Alvarez, but it’d definitely buy him a ticket directly into welterweight title contention. In fact, it could well be enough to net the Irishman a title shot.

So could ‘The Notorious’ pull off a win against Magny? It probably wouldn’t be easy. ‘The Haitian Sensation’ has a lengthy reach of 80” that he’s become highly adept at using to his advantage. He’s also a very skilled ground fighter.

However, it’s probably fair to say that he’s never quite reached the elite level in the UFC, having fallen to higher-end fighters such as Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Chiesa and Demian Maia. More importantly, Magny isn’t the most durable welterweight out there. He’s suffered a couple of bad knockouts in his UFC career and often finds himself on the deck during his fights.

That could be music to the ears of a concussive puncher like Conor McGregor. So if the Irishman could avoid the takedown attempts, this would definitely be a winnable fight for him, as well as a means to a much bigger end.