When Mauricio Ruffy called out Conor McGregor at UFC 325, many of us thought he was punching above his weight. The 29-year-old Brazilian welcoming ‘The Notorious’ back seemed about as unrealistic as Conor and Khabib burying the hatchet. But ‘One Shot’ was privy to information only a few others were, and he has now let us in on the secret.

If the White House card is to be the biggest event in UFC history, it has to have Conor McGregor. The UFC knows it. McGregor knows it. The Irishman, being as much a showman as he is a fighter, knows that his opponent’s style will go a long way in making this fight exciting. And for him, Ruffy fits the bill perfectly.

“Yes, he (McGregor) made comments about me fighting him. He said that two strikers of that very high level would sell much more. It would be something closer to what he’s trying to bring in his comeback.

“Not to fight a guy who is coming off several losses and all of that. He wants to do a fight against a guy that’s going to drive the audience crazy. And I said ‘Wow.’ I agreed right away. I said ‘100%, count me in. Let’s go.’ He specifically mentioned my name (in talks), I heard he did,” said Mauricio Ruffy in an interview with Laerte Viana.

While on the mic with Daniel Cormier after his UFC 325 win, Ruffy had said, “Hunter [Campbell], Dana White, you see me fight and know my style. How about Conor McGregor or Paddy Pimblett? Let me put on a show.” And McGregor’s apparent interest is just one of the three things that seem to be working in Ruffy’s favor.

Ruffy (13-2) has only lost once in his UFC run, and he just got back to the win column. His only other loss came back in 2019, from a leaping left hook from Manoel Sousa at SFT 18. His orthodox forward-moving style could be tailor-made for McGregor’s southpaw counter-striking style. And with the win, Ruffy is #9 (he was #14 before) in the UFC lightweight rankings. But even with all these advantages, he still has competition.

After Dana White rejected the idea of rebooking Michael Chandler vs. Conor McGregor, several names were up in the air about his prospective White House return. While Michael Chandler was not giving up hope, Jorge Masvidal crashed the scene with some bold claims.

According to ‘Gamebred,’ his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, was moving the pieces behind the scenes to get Masvidal vs. McGregor booked for the White House. Although this bout is about six years too late to be discussed, it found support from figures like Michael Bisping. But Bisping might want to pump the brakes on the Masvidal train, because he has someone from his own country who could take on McGregor at the White House.

Top MMA journalist sees the possibility of Conor McGregor vs. Paddy Pimblett

Dana White has publicly shut down Chandler and Masvidal’s claims of fighting McGregor at the White House. Following that, several individuals in the community started discussing and speculating on the best option for the Irishman’s return. And Ariel Helwani has named Paddy Pimblett as an option.

“The big fish for the White House card is Conor McGregor, right? That’s the big dog, that’s the big draw. If [McGregor] is involved, I can see a scenario where it’s him vs. Paddy. If it’s not Chandler,” Helwani said on his show, while extending support to Chandler as his first pick.

Paddy Pimblett can be an interesting matchup for McGregor. With his loss at UFC 324, a fight (and win) against McGregor could restore some of the shine he lost against Justin Gaethje. Besides, the Scouser is already back in the gym and claims he will be back sooner than expected.

Pimblett’s name was also next to McGregor’s in Dan Hooker’s claim about an apparent confrontation between the pair. Hooker claimed that McGregor went to Pimblett’s house and called him out, but Pimblett never came out. The real story is different.

McGregor partied in Liverpool back in 2017 and wanted to link up with his former Cage Warriors colleague, but ended up at the wrong house. This story is known to the fandom. But things did look a little misaligned between the Englishman and the Irishman when McGregor backed Chandler to beat Pimblett at UFC 314.

When Paddy raised his voice after beating ‘Iron,’ McGregor backtracked and claimed he went against his instincts to back his prospective opponent. However, ‘Mystic Mac’ also expressed interest in fighting Pimblett, if not Chandler.

The UFC White House card goes down on June 14, and so the Scouser will have enough time to recover from the injuries he suffered in his UFC 324 fight. Who would you like to see McGregor fight – Pimblett or Ruffy?