Getty Conor McGregor waits for the start of his welterweight bout against Donald Cerrone during UFC 246.
The MMA world awaits the announcement of Conor “Notorious” McGregor’s next opponent, and talks are in the preliminary stages with a particular fan favorite.
During the February 24 episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, the journalist reported that, “As of right now, a summertime fight between [Justin] Gaethje and Conor [McGregor] is the current front runner. Things can change, talks [are] very preliminary at this point. But that’s the fight that Gaethje obviously wants, and I think for everyone involved on Conor’s side they recognize that this is the fight that makes the most amount of sense next following what he did against Donald Cerrone — and hopefully on the road to Khabib Nurmagomedov for them.”
Helwani reiterated that McGregor’s next fight has come down to a “two-horse race” between Gaethje and Nate Diaz.
Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje is currently ranked #4 in lightweight, but it has not been reported if the two would fight at lightweight or at welterweight.
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Justin Gaethje Is Known For His Impressive Power & Knockout Highlight Reel
The man known as The Highlight, Justin Gaethje, boasts an impressive professional MMA record of 21-2. In those 21 wins, The Highlight has 18 wins by either KO or TKO. He signed to the UFC in 2017, and he finished Michael Johnson in his debut. Since Gaethje’s first fight in the promotion, UFC fans have witnessed spectacular fights whenever he has stepped into the Octagon.
Gaethje has won a performance bonus in every UFC fight he’s been in, and is currently on a three-fight winning streak, including finishes over Donald Cerrone, Edson Barboza and James Vick. He has been active with calling out McGregor on social media, and a few days ago a video was published on Twitter via TMZ with Gaethje calling the Irishman out.
The video also features the current UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo:
I tell you what, them spies on #TMZ love sipping on my Koolaid. @thenotoriousmma this is a special message from your nightmare @justin_gaethje sign the contract Princess. No where to hide 📝.
Dana White Has Said He Wants McGregor to Fight For the UFC Lightweight Belt Next
The UFC’s president, Dana White, has told the media on a few occasions that he wants McGregor to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov next. However, the UFC lightweight champion, Nurmagomedov, is already scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.
McGregor has said that he wants to have an active 2020, and if Nurmagomedov does end up getting the victory over Ferguson, he may not be ready to fight the Irishman until the fall. The champion is Muslim, and with Ramadan running from late April to May, McGregor may not want to wait that long.
Nurmagomedov is in for a very tough fight against Ferguson. And if the challenger wins, McGregor could be slotted in to face Ferguson next.
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