Jorge Masvidal plans to return to the octagon after his upcoming boxing endeavors. It’s just a matter of who it’s against.

As UFC 303 fight week rolls on, fight fans around the globe have to wait a little longer for the return of former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor after he broke his pinky toe in preparation for Michael Chandler. Instead, we get treated to an exciting light heavyweight title rematch between the champion Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.

Next weekend, Masvidal ends his own layoff when he comes out of retirement for a boxing rematch against old foe Nate Diaz inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Despite the matchup seemingly having expired years ago, Masvidal still envisions a McGregor clash as a must-see event. Unfortunately for “Gamebred,” he doesn’t expect it to ever come to fruition.

“He’s never mentioned my name,” Masvidal told MMA Junkie. “He’s never addressed me, only to say like stupid things or something, but he’s never addressed a fight with me or something because he is scared sh*tless.

“If we can’t get him to get into the cage with a guy he’s convinced he can beat, what the f*ck will make him get in the cage with me?”

Between Masvidal and McGregor, they have a common opponent in Diaz, along with Donald Cerrone, in star-boosting bouts. McGregor and Diaz famously fought twice with Diaz pulling off the upset in the first encounter by second-round rear-naked choke. Part two saw McGregor enact revenge via a majority decision in a back-and-forth affair. However, Masvidal felt Diaz should have been awarded the victory before he ultimately fought and defeated Diaz via third-round TKO in 2019.

Masvidal, 39, went into his brief retirement on the heels of four consecutive losses. According to Masvidal, the UFC wanted to make the McGregor matchup, which seemingly had some logical openings after that inaugural BMF title tilt against Diaz.

Well, it’s never too late.

“The UFC has tried to make this fight happen, and Conor doesn’t want it,” Masvidal said. “He doesn’t want the damn fight. He never mentions my name, but we’re the biggest fight possible. You think Michael Chandler sells more than me vs. Conor? Nobody in their right mind thinks that. … I’m one of the biggest pay-per-view draws of the UFC in the last five-six years. Of course, we’d break records, but this guy won’t do it. … In my future, I don’t see this fight happening unless I run into him at a parking lot.”

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LET’S WATCH

The MMA Hour.

Catching up with Cory Sandhagen.

UFC 303 Embedded.

UFC 303 Countdown.

Best of IFW.

UFC Connected: MVP’s UFC debut.

PFL Fight Week.

Full fight.

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LISTEN UP

On To the Next One. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alex K. Lee discuss the matches to make after UFC Saudi Arabia.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Sergei.

Yikes.

Oh, Canada.

Black belt in KOs.

This guy.

Celebration time.

Oh?

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I expect Masvidal to get a Nick Diaz or Tony Ferguson-esque matchup when he comes back to the UFC... Not like either of those two, although it should be, but someone the UFC would give to those two. If Masvidal and Nick both win their next fights, might as well just do that, I guess.

Thanks for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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