Justin Gaethje v Conor McGregor is heating up. Nothing is official yet but it appears to be the most likely next match-up for ‘The Notorious.’ It’s a fight that makes a lot of sense for both men. In short, they both want a lightweight title shot, but Gaethje’s chance is more perilous than McGregor’s.
Let’s be real, McGregor fights who he wants and when he wants. No other fighter in the organization, with the possible exception of Jon Jones, enjoys that same luxury. However, he’s facing a stubborn obstacle in Khabib Nurmagamedov and the Russian’s manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Now Gaethje – who is also represented by Abdelaziz – says that nobody could deny McGregor a title shot if he gets past him. It’s a fair statement and respectful admission from ‘The Highlight.’ Bookmakers have the Irishman as the early favorite. Who do you think would win a fight between these two men?
Contender
Gaethje obviously wants a big payday. But he also believes that a fight between him and McGregor has genuine merit. The Irishman’s only loss at lightweight since getting stripped of the title is to the champion, Khabib. Meanwhile, Gaethje is on a three-fight win streak at the top of the division. While Tony Ferguson and Khabib sort out their business, this is a perfect situation. Gaethje told MMA Fighting:
“I think me and Conor need to fight each other to figure out the No. 1 contender. 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.”
“You know it’s his choice. He picks who he fights. He knows that if he fights me and beats me, nobody — Khabib, Ali, whoever — can’t say much about him earning it or deserving the title shot. But until then, he ain’t going to get it.”
Exciting
Team McGregor is on board. John Kavanagh has made no secret of the fact that he favors a Gaethje fight next. Furthermore, Owen Roddy also wants this clash. It seems to be heating up. Let’s hope that it does come to fruition.
“Anyone to be honest but you know, maybe Gaethje,” Roddy told ESPN. “There is a lot of talk about Gaethje. I mean, he’s an exciting fighter, Gaethje. I would like to see it, I’m sure you’d like to see it, and I’m sure the rest of the world would like to see it. So yeah, potentially that, but to be honest, anyone. I know Conor is raring to go and everyone will be raring to go by the time July comes around.”
The time is now 🇮🇪🙏🌍https://t.co/8DdzPPz1aL
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 24, 2020
Waiting Game
In the meantime, we have to wait and see what happens with this coronavirus business. Assuming a zombie apocalypse doesn’t come along the UFC will hopefully be back in business by midsummer at the latest. Khabib and Tony Ferguson are already being linked to a clash in Florida. Why? Because Florida.
Meanwhile, McGregor is trying to inspire all of Ireland to stay indoors and wait it all out. He spoke to his followers and warned them that this is a real fight and that they need to follow government policies. Check out the clip above.
