Jorge Masvidal reignites Conor McGregor feud, reveals what he'd have done at UFC 329

Jorge Masvidal has sounded off against a fighter with whom he's long shared an intense rivalry but hasn't faced inside the Octagon yet.

The fighter in question is none other than former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Masvidal signaled that he'd have attacked McGregor even after seeing that the latter suffered a mid-fight leg injury at UFC 329. 

Jorge Masvidal reignites Conor McGregor feud, claims he'd have hurt the MMA icon at UFC 329

Conor McGregor suffered a left-leg injury at UFC 264 back in July of 2021, which was followed by a five-year break from professional MMA competition. The mixed martial arts icon was said to be working on his entrepreneurial pursuits, and several attempts to agree with the UFC for a comeback fight didn't materialize. 

Nevertheless, he finally made his comeback at UFC 329 in July of this year. McGregor fought Max Holloway in a rematch, having beaten him via unanimous decision in their first encounter at featherweight in 2013. Regardless, "The Mac" ended up losing their rematch, a welterweight clash, via first-round TKO, as a jumping/flying switch kick missed and injured his right knee. 

During a recent conversation with Jake Noecker on Home of Fight, Jorge Masvidal reignited his rivalry against McGregor. The street fighting veteran-turned-MMA athlete underlined that although Max Holloway appeared to refrain from going all out in attacking McGregor after the knee injury, he wouldn't have shown that kind of restraint. 

Masvidal asserted that he "would love to slap" his Irish counterpart. The American fighter of Cuban descent added, "Max (Holloway) is nice. I would've punched him right in his face after he f**king fell. Max is a nice guy. Those Hawaiian guys are the meanest, but they're also the nicest. 'Cause I would've punched him (Conor McGregor) right dead in his f**king mouth." 

The 41-year-old indicated that McGregor was attempting to land a potentially devastating strike on Holloway, so the latter had the right to retaliate and hurt him. Masvidal insinuated that although there might be some other fighters he'd have displayed restraint with in such an injury-marred scenario, McGregor isn't one with whom he'd hold back. 

Harking back to McGregor's altercation with an individual at an Irish pub from several years ago, Masvidal said, "For the dude at the bar, here you go. For the senior citizen grandpa... Right in the f**king mouth." 

Jorge Masvidal believes his fight against Conor McGregor is unlikely to materialize

The UFC's inaugural BMF champion claimed that Conor McGregor wouldn't agree to fight UFC lightweight star Michael Chandler. Jorge Masvidal pointed out that he didn't mean to undermine Chandler, but he (Masvidal) is a much more dangerous matchup for McGregor, so facing him would be out of the question. 

For context, the McGregor-Chandler welterweight matchup booked for UFC 303 in June 2024 was indeed set to take place, but a toe injury forced the Irish MMA stalwart out of it. 

Masvidal seemingly gestured that he'd break his longtime rival. He said, "I'll break him. I just know, mentally, I'll break him." 

The former UFC lightweight and welterweight staple highlighted that he'd keep a steady pace and coerce McGregor to give in. Masvidal reaffirmed, however, that he doesn't believe that "Mystic Mac" would agree to return to fight against him.

"Gamebred" further alluded to the conspiracy theories surrounding UFC 329, implying that McGregor aimed to finish Holloway with the high-risk kick and back out of the fight if that didn't work. He continued, "He got the fans' money." 

On the contrary, a number of MMA personalities, including Michael Chandler, have publicly defended McGregor against the conspiracy theories. 

Masvidal, on his part, retired from MMA in 2023 following his unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Gilbert Burns. He subsequently partook in a professional boxing match against his former UFC opponent Nate Diaz and found himself on the wrong end of a majority decision verdict. 

Furthermore, Masvidal has, here in 2026, time and again emphasized that he's open to competing in MMA again under the UFC promotional banner, albeit he's waiting for the right offer.

The consensus is that a possible grudge match against ex-UFC welterweight kingpin Leon Edwards, whom he had an altercation with in 2019, could be his likely comeback fight in the UFC. Masvidal has often hinted that he'd be open to facing Edwards, and did so during his aforementioned conversation as well. 

Watch Jorge Masvidal sound off against Conor McGregor below (*comments at the 9:27-minute mark of the video):