This would be another fight that would set pulses racing
For a man who has fought just once in the UFC in 30 months, Conor McGregor is still getting offers on a daily basis. Still, toss out two surnames of fighters fans would love to see enclosed inside The Octagon and Gaethje vs McGregor would be popular.
The former featherweight and lightweight champion’s last two fights were in November 2016 and October 2018 and they were his first two in the lightweight division. Despite claiming to have retired just over a week ago, McGregor’s name remains high up in the official UFC rankings.
‘The Notorious’ is second as number two contender, behind the stood-down Tony Ferguson. Dustin Poirier (3) and featherweight champ Max Holloway are facing off to see who gets the interim 155 lbs belt while Khabib Nurmagomedov plots a return for later this year.
The number five lightweight is Justin Gaethje, who climbed the rankings this week by starching Edson Barboza in Philadelphia. Gaethje feels he would be a tough fight for Nurmagomedov but he is happy to work his way up through contenders to get to ‘The Eagle’.
Upon learning that McGregor may not be as completely retired as his recent social media post suggested, Gaethje got extremely worked up.
“F**k man, it’s the name of the game. I want to fight him. I want to fight him in Ireland,” he told TMZ.
“I know it’s not going to happen in Ireland but that is my dream. To go over there and be in that environment; that sort of chaos. That’s what fucking wakes me up in the morning.
“I’ll go out there and I’ll stand [with him]. If he wants to retire, I can help him on his way out.”
Ever since Gaethje vacated his World Series of Fighting title in May 2017 to join the UFC, fans have been anticipating a clash with McGregor. The Arizona native has 17 KO or TKO wins, to date, while 18 of McGregor’s 21 career wins have been by KO or TKO.
Gaethje was an All-American wrestler but the majority of his MMA victories have been secured through striking.
“Both of us [me and Conor] have that skill where we just need to touch you one time,” he said.
“This is a crazy sport. Just go in there and roll those dice. That is the sort of chaos that I want in my life… Conor is a warrior so this fight might intrigue him.”
The walking MMA highlight reel says McGregor would struggle to live with his leg-kicks and wrestling and “the last thing he wants is to be on his back and reaching for the sky”. However, if it gets a bout agreement signed, he is willing to just stand and trade with the Dubliner.
