Conor McGregor has been warned he will not make it to the cage for his UFC return against Max Holloway, according to former fighter Jorge Masvidal.
McGregor is scheduled to face Holloway on July 11, marking his first fight since breaking his leg in the first round of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier five years ago. However, Masvidal doubts the Irishman will actually step into the Octagon.
"I don't think he'll do it," Masvidal told Snabbare. "Hopefully he proves me wrong, but I don't think so. He has been out for so long, and once you back out of one fight and more time passes by, it's harder for you to really get in that mode and that routine. Then you start trying to get in that mode and routine, and maybe you get hurt."
Masvidal highlighted the physical toll of returning after a long layoff. "Your body isn't the same as when you were training 17 years in a row, every day, in a very scientific and very brutal form, and pushing your body like that, then you take a long break and you don't live that lifestyle throughout the break, then you come back trying to push yourself to get to where you used to be. Then you find out, 'Damn, my body can't hold up like how it used to be.'"
Even if McGregor does make it to the fight, Masvidal is confident Holloway will dominate. "If they fight, I'm betting the house on Max," he added. "He smokes him. It's just hard to come off not living that life and then try to live that life against somebody that does that day in and day out."
Masvidal concluded that Holloway's consistent competition at the highest level gives him a clear edge. "Max has been fighting the world's best consecutively and doing fairly well against them. I don't think Conor is going to do well at all. I think he's going to get smoked like a brisket."
