LAS VEGAS – It’s fair to say Jorge Masvidal doesn’t have much time for opponent Ben Askren ahead of their eagerly-anticipated welterweight clash at UFC 239.

Chatting to MMA Junkie during a packed media day on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Masvidal (33-13 MMA, 10-6 UFC) laid out his issues with his welterweight rival in his typical no-nonsense fashion.

“(There are) numerous things,” Masvidal said. “He’s just a pompous (expletive), I can’t stand him. There’s no hate, because I don’t hate nobody, but I just don’t care for the dude, in this life or the next. He’s not my cup of tea, man.”

Askren (19-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has used his top-level wrestling skills to capture welterweight titles in both Bellator and ONE Championship during his career. But despite his opponent’s wrestling pedigree, Masvidal struggled for words when asked for his thoughts on the other aspects of Askren’s MMA skillset.

After a long pause, he said: “I couldn’t even answer that question, bro. Besides putting his face in somebody’s crotch, another man’s crotch, I don’t know what else he (expletive) does. I don’t even think he can spell ‘punch.’”

And, with Masvidal knowing exactly what he’s getting on fight night, he says his gameplan is a simple one.

“Beat his ass up, wherever the fight goes,” Masvidal said. “Because if I’m on my back I can still punch, I can still scramble to get back up to my feet. So the fight going on the floor, it’s not over. When I went to the floor with (Demian) Maia it wasn’t over. Maia’s a much better submission individual than this guy will ever be, so (the plan is to) just beat his ass up through and through.”

The buzz surrounding Masvidal’s matchup with Askren is palpable, with the bout attracting significant fan and media interest ahead of this weekend’s event. And, for a man who has been fighting his way to the top for more than a decade and a half, “Gamebred” says the love and appreciation has been a long time coming.

“It’s only been 16 years,” Masvidal said with a grin. “(I) definitely appreciate it, because it means my paychecks will be getting significantly bigger, and that’s what I love. I’ve been good (at) fighting for a long time. And I can talk in front of the cameras, it’s just maybe I’m not the hungriest or thirstiest to get in front of the camera and always talk.

“For example, that individual that I’m fighting, he calls reporters and stuff to get interviews. He goes out of his way and he offers lunch and maybe even sexual favors, I don’t know, man. But he does whatever he can to get an interview. And I know these guys, some of them are friends of mine. And they’ll send me texts like: ‘Look at the message that this guy wrote me just to be on my show.’ It shows how pathetic he is, man.”

If Masvidal gets past Askren, he says the only logical next step is to fight for the title – an opportunity he believes he already earned with his spectacular knockout of Darren Till at UFC on ESPN+ 5 in London in March.

“I’m on that surfboard, and that wave is taking me right to the title shot, there’s no other way around it,” Masvidal said. “I thought I should have been fighting for a title after Till. Till’s never been stopped in his career. Who did that in his home town? Me. When nobody wanted to fight the guy, I went and did it. Why didn’t I get the title fight then? Because I didn’t have that huge buzz. But now there’s no denying it.”

And if that opportunity eventually means stepping into the octagon to face his longtime friend, teammate and fellow welterweight contender Colby Covington, Masvidal says he’s cool with that, providing there’s championship gold on the line.

“If the belt is on the line, it’s going to happen,” he said. “If the belt’s on the line, it doesn’t matter who has it. I didn’t get into this sport to high-five with no dudes. It’s not my (expletive) thing. I got in here to fight, to win and, when I had kids, the goal was simple. I’m going to use my talents that God gave me, I’m going to develop them better and provide for my kids the best life that I possibly can. So there’s not a human being walking this planet that if they have the title I wouldn’t try to diminish them and finish them.

“Mathematically it sounds like we’re going to end up doing it. Is it somebody I want to punch in the face, knee in the ribs, kick in the neck? No, not really. We’ve spent a lot of time training together, we have a lot of similar interests. We used to like poker a lot, used to train all day and chase women, so it was pretty easy for us to get along. I don’t know. It’s not somebody I want to punch in the face, but like I said, if that belt’s on the line, it don’t matter who it is.”

For more on UFC 239, check out the Schedule section of the site.