The UFC denied Masvidal's demand to fight McGregor, and is instead considering an opponent who hates him so much they might need extra security to make it happen
- Jorge Masvidal will definitely not be fighting Conor McGregor next as "you can't make ultimatums," the UFC boss Dana White has said.
- Instead, White will be offering Masvidal a different opponent.
- A welterweight bout against Leon Edwards, who Masvidal shares a checkered past with, would be "a good fight to make," White said.
- White added that because there is such animosity between the two fighters, extra security may need to be called in just to contain the build-up to the bout.
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Jorge Masvidal could be offered a UFC fight against an opponent who hates him so much, there'll be extra security present just to contain the build-up, promoter Dana White has said.
Famed for his flying knee knockout win over the previously unbeaten wrestler Ben Askren in July, which broke the UFC record for the fastest finish in company history, Masvidal capitalized on his new-found popularity worldwide by challenging Conor McGregor to a fight.
Masvidal said he wanted the McGregor bout because he wanted to break the Irishman's face for "an easy paycheck."
White, all along, said this was not possible as there would be too great a size difference between Masvidal, a welterweight, and McGregor, a lightweight and former featherweight. All this did, apparently, was annoy McGregor.
Regardless, White has said he will present a new opponent to Masvidal, and could offer him a welterweight bout against Leon Edwards as it's a "good fight."
"Listen, we're going to offer him a fight and if he accepts the fight he does, and if he doesn't, he doesn't," White told reporters in Las Vegas on Tuesday, MMA Junkie reports. "You can't make ultimatums."
On the prospect of a Masvidal and Edwards match-up, which would pit two fighters who threw punches at each other backstage at a UFC London event earlier in the year, White said "that's definitely a good fight to make."
He added: "The question is, where do you do that fight and how much security are we going to have?"
Edwards, like Masvidal, is on the list for the fastest finishes in UFC history. At a UFC Fight Night 64 event in 2015, the 27-year-old knocked out Seth Baczynski with a kick, straight left combination in just eight seconds.