5 reasons why the UFC should book a fight between Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal

#2. It would allow the UFC to avoid giving an underserved title shot to Conor McGregor

A fight with Jorge Masvidal could be presented to Conor McGregor instead of a lightweight title shot

Outside of a potential fight with Jorge Masvidal, another fight that has been mooted for Conor McGregor is a UFC lightweight title bout against the winner of the upcoming Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje match.

Put simply, however, the idea of giving ‘The Notorious’ a title fight right now is absurd. The Irishman hasn’t won a fight since January 2020. While he did impress against Donald Cerrone, that win was sandwiched between a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov and two losses to Dustin Poirier.

Sure, McGregor in a title fight would likely draw more money on pay-per-view than any other fight that the UFC could put together right now. However, if they were to go with it, any semblance of the promotion being about the best fighting the best would go out of the window.

However, from the UFC’s perspective, it’s almost understandable. After all, McGregor needs to be used in big fights and there aren’t all that many around for him right now.

A clash with ‘Gamebred’, though, would definitely count as one of those big fights. After all, while his drawing power isn’t on the same level as McGregor’s, he has been involved in huge shows. His first fight with Kamaru Usman in 2020 drew over a million buys on pay-per-view.

Therefore, by matching McGregor with Masvidal, the UFC could avoid all the controversy that would come with handing him an undeserved title shot, saving their own reputation in the process.

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#1. Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal would draw hugely on pay-per-view

While he isn't quite on Conor McGregor's level, Jorge Masvidal is a pay-per-view draw in his own right

Perhaps the biggest reason for the UFC to match Conor McGregor against Jorge Masvidal is the fact that the fight would probably draw a humongous number on pay-per-view, making the promotion millions of dollars in the process.

When it comes to drawing power, no fighter in the history of the UFC and MMA can match McGregor. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that millions of fans are willing to part with their money in order to watch him compete.

Incredibly, according to Tapology, eight of the UFC’s ten biggest-drawing pay-per-views were headlined by ‘The Notorious’, with his 2018 bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov drawing an insane 2.4 million buys.

What is interesting is that one of the UFC's ten best-selling pay-per-views in UFC history was actually headlined by Masvidal. UFC 251, which saw ‘Gamebred’ unsuccessfully challenge Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title, reportedly drew 1.3 million buys.

While their rematch didn’t quite match those numbers, then, it’s clear that Masvidal does have plenty of drawing power in his own right.

When you consider that McGregor drew over a million buys alongside Donald Cerrone, who had never gotten close to those kinds of numbers before, it’s easy to imagine a fight between the Irishman and Masvidal getting close to the kind of numbers produced by ‘The Notorious’ and Nate Diaz.

Essentially, a bout between McGregor and ‘Gamebred’ would be an excuse to print money, meaning the UFC should go for it while they’ve got the chance.