Conor McGregor
What’s next for UFC superstar Conor McGregor? If Justin Gaethje has his way, McGregor and Gaethje will battle for next crack at the UFC lightweight championship. The 31-year-old American revealed to MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin that Gaethje believes both he and McGregor need each other.
“I think me and Conor need to fight each other to figure out the No. 1 contender,” Gaethje said per MMA Fighting. “Outside of that, if I need to fight someone else to assure myself of the No. 1 contender’s spot and get the winner of that fight, I’ll do that. As long as that’s a sure thing.”
Gaethje is ranked No. 4 in the UFC 155-pound division. McGregor is ranked No. 3. Both fighters seem to be in line to get next crack at the winner of the upcoming UFC 249 battle between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and top-rated contender Tony Ferguson. While some pundits have pondered that the UFC might let McGregor jump over other contenders because of the Irishman’s incredible popularity, Gaethje said his personal goal was to get himself in position for a title opportunity however he can.
For the American, that means he needs to nab another win no matter what happens with next month’s UFC 249 card.
“I think I have to look at the big picture whenever I think about it,” Gaethje said per MMA Fighting. “I think me waiting to fight the winner of Khabib-Tony isn’t realistic. I think I will have to fight again.”
Still, Gaethje said he knows whether he ends up being McGregor’s next opponent will mostly be the superstar McGregor’s call.
“You know it’s his choice,” Gaethje said. “[Conor McGregor] picks who he fights.”
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What Gaethje Believes He Offers McGregor That Others Don’t
Basically, what Gaethje believes he offers McGregor over other potential opponents is the chance to prove McGregor deserves a chance to recapture UFC gold at lightweight.
He might not be wrong.
After all, Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor by fourth-round submission at UFC 229 in October 2018, and McGregor has only picked up one win since that fight against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January.
Meanwhile, Gaethje has scored three first-round knockouts in a row since losing to Dustin Poirer for the interim lightweight title back in April 2018. He stopped James Vick, Edson Barboza and Cerrone. Now, he wants the chance to do the same against McGregor.
“Now I’m in a great position to fight for a title and I have him saying he wants to jump ahead,” Gaethje said. “Now I want to fight him cause it’s the right time. It’s the right fight to make.”
For Gaethje, the winner of McGregor vs. Gaethje would be the clear top challenger at 155 pounds.
“He knows that if he fights me and beats me, nobody…can’t say much about him earning it or deserving the title shot,” Gaethje said. “But until then, he ain’t going to get it.”
Still, Gaethje said he doesn’t really have anything personal against McGregor. In fact, according to Gaethje, him wanting to face McGregor next is nothing more than putting himself in the best position possible for his fighting career.
“I haven’t necessarily wanted to fight this guy for a while,” Gaethje explained. “He said he was going to fight me last year and I was coming off two losses and I was making my way back up the ranks. That was what I was doing.”
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Twitter: @Kelsey_McCarson