UFC president Dana White has warned Conor McGregor 'it's a bad idea' to fight Jorge Masvidal - but expects the Irishman to do it anyway.
McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the octagon when he fights Donald Cerrone at welterweight in the headline bout at UFC 246 next month.
After that January 18 fight, the former two-weight champion wants a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov, who defeated McGregor in his last UFC bout in October 2018.
And 'The Notorious' is also targeting a match-up against Masvidal in a three-fight plan for 2020.
But White has warned McGregor off the idea of going after Masvidal.
He told ESPN via MMA Fighting : “Conor has this idea, too, that if things don’t go his way and he [doesn’t] get the fight [with Khabib], he’ll have had a 170 fight in his pocket again and [is] considering a [Jorge] Masvidal fight.
“I think everybody knows what I think about it. I think it’s a bad idea.
“Conor gets pissed off when I say it’s a bad idea, and he’s like, ‘You think I can’t beat Masvidal?’
"I’m not saying you can’t beat Masvidal. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, but why? Why go after that fight when you could possibly just wait?”
Masvidal holds the 'Baddest Motherf**ker' belt that was specially created for his fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 244.
White has said he has no intention to make Masvidal defend the belt - but the prospect of a lucrative fight against McGregor might persuade him.
“Conor wants that belt from Masvidal,” White said. “I did it as a one off and like I said, it was fun. It was awesome. We’ll see what happens.”
“This is the reason Conor McGregor is so intriguing and why so many fans love to watch him fight.
“And you’ve got to love the fact that a guy is willing to fight anybody.”
“Believe me, I’ve said this a million times, I’ll say it again, I’ve been in the trenches and when we’re standing the living room and fights pull out, Conor McGregor will fight anybody.”
