Nolan King: A sensible money fight doesn’t come around every day
It’s not every day we come across a money fight that makes sense for all parties involved. Should Conor McGregor defeat Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 (which is in no way a given outcome), a pairing with Jorge Masvidal makes all the sense in the world.
The two hottest stars in the sport at the moment are McGregor and Masvidal. Both are in unique positions. Each seemingly has an endless amount of options for mega-fights. They’re anomalies.
The No. 1 reason a money fight makes sense is that it won’t hold up an entire weight class (or two). Both men are 170-pounders right now. No one has to move up or down. It’s not a champion vs. champion fight that’s going to clog up two entire divisions’ progress, like we’ve seen superfights do in the past.
Plus, both men seem interested in the matchup. Masvidal has been a bit more outspoken about wanting the fight. McGregor has said he’s willing to take on Masvidal, but has his sights set on title gold. Money makes the world go around, and this is probably the biggest cash cow the UFC could promote right now. So it’s probably safe to assume the members of the UFC’s brass are on board, right?
As for Usman, a money fight would probably do him favors in the long term. He can either take a fight against the Leon Edwards vs. Tyron Woodley winner, or he can hold out and take on the victor of the money fight.
McGregor vs. Masvidal is a win-win-win. Book it.
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