Conor McGregor Won’t Receive Welterweight Title Shot, UFC Boss Says

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Pump the brakes on the rumors regarding a Conor McGregor UFC welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman.

Earlier this week, Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN that his fighter would pursue a bout with the Irish star if presumed No. 1 contender Jorge Masvidal didn’t accept the fight. Meanwhile, Usman himself wondered why both McGregor and Masvidal were unusually quiet on the social media front.

While the opponent for Usman’s next title defense isn’t exactly clear, UFC president Dana White shot down the notion that McGregor is one of the top contenders for that opportunity.

“The next title fight for Usman is gonna be one of these guys: It’s gonna be Colby [Covington], Masvidal, [Leon] Edwards,” White told ESPN. “It’s gonna be one of those guys. It’s not gonna be Conor McGregor.”

Masvidal, after a 3-0 stint in 2019 that saw him earn finishes against Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz, was expected to be the obvious foil for Usman, especially after their run-in on media row during Super Bowl week. However, “Gamebred” seems to have recently set his sights on a rematch Diaz, a matchup that doesn’t especially interest White.

“I would rather see the UFC title be defended than the BMF title,” White said. “Anything’s possible, but those [Usman vs. top welterweight contenders] are the fights that make sense right now.”