UFC News: Jorge Masvidal plans to cash-in on "lottery ticket" Conor McGregor but says Floyd Mayweather is a bigger money fight
by R. Nath
Jorge Masvidal is riding a high wave now as potentially the fighter of the year 2019, for the UFC. Except for Israel Adesanya, there's no denying that nobody else has had a better year than him and nobody had the impact that he had.
Despite being a UFC veteran, Masvidal was the breakout star of 2019 and following three finishes of top contenders Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz, his stock has never been higher.
As a result, he has a few big-money fights on his plate. Nick Diaz and Conor McGregor are two names who have expressed interest in fighting him. After UFC 244, Masvidal even called out the face of Boxing Canelo Alvarez for a big money fight, something that Alvarez seems less than interested in him.
However, there have been rumblings and subsequently a confirmation of Floyd Mayweather's 2020 return and when talking to TMZ, Jorge Masvidal revealed that a fight against Mayweather is the big money fight, even bigger than Conor McGregor (H/T Credit Bjpenn.com):
“(McGregor) is one of the lottery tickets we’re possibly going to cash on in. It’s not the biggest lottery ticket, but it’s one of the lottery tickets” Masvidal said
He said that Mayweather is the biggest money fight there is:
“Me versus [Floyd] Mayweather. I want cash money. I got children and those children’s got needs. I love to fight and one of my first loves growing up was boxing, and then I fell in love with wrestling and then UFC came about. And I was like, ‘Wow, I can do them both of them at the same damn time.’ I fell in love with the UFC and that’s all I’ve done, the MMA. But I can box my ass off,” Masvidal said.
He said that he isn't going to fade against the undefeated Boxing legend the way Conor McGregor did.
“Not saying I’m a better boxer than Mayweather but man, I’m gonna be in there with bad intentions trying to hurt him. I’m a well-conditioned athlete who’s not going to fade. I’m not going to fade in the eighth of ninth round (like McGregor). I’m going to be there for the whole night. I want to get into the biggest, toughest, roughest fights that I possibly can and make a paycheck for them as well, get compensated for my skills.”
Masvidal is certainly ambitious and while nobody expects him to get the fight, Mayweather's collaboration with the UFC could certainly open the door to different possibilities. If Masvidal can get consecutive "lottery tickets" then the respect for him will only go up. He has had to work from the ground-up and has certainly earned his right to chase after big-money fights.