Justin Gaethje has reached a point in his UFC career where he can afford to be selective, and one name stands out when he looks at the potential fights still available to him: Conor McGregor.
Gaethje is coming off a huge upset victory over Ilia Topuria at UFC White House, where he finally captured the undisputed lightweight championship. Now sitting at the top of the division, the 37-year-old isn’t particularly interested in settling old scores with Max Holloway or Charles Oliveira. Instead, he likes the idea of sharing the Octagon with McGregor.
Speaking to Paramount+, Gaethje was asked whether there were any previous losses he still wanted to avenge. Holloway and Oliveira would be obvious choices, but Gaethje has found his own way of putting those defeats behind him.
Justin Gaethje Picks Conor McGregor
Topuria previously defeated both Holloway and Oliveira, and Gaethje’s recent victory over Topuria has apparently given him enough reason to consider those losses indirectly avenged.
That leaves McGregor as a much more appealing option.
Damn, there’s really no one. It would have been Oliveira or Holloway, but since Topuria beat them, I’m going to go ahead and justify it to myself like I got them back.
Gaethje then turned his attention toward the former two-division UFC champion.
So I guess McGregor. Fun to shut him up.
McGregor returned to competition in July but suffered another major setback when a knee injury ended his fight against Holloway just 19 seconds into the opening round at UFC 329. That leaves plenty of uncertainty surrounding when, or if, McGregor will be ready to compete again.
For Gaethje, there’s no immediate rush to settle on his next challenger anyway.
Gaethje Adjusting To Life As UFC Champion
After spending much of his career chasing the lightweight championship, Gaethje admitted that finally being the man everyone else is targeting feels strange.
He had previously captured interim lightweight gold twice and also held the BMF title, but failed in his first two attempts to become the undisputed champion. His win over Topuria finally changed that.
There’s always been a champion, I’ve always had somebody to chase. Now, being the champion, it’s like I just have to retain and hold onto what I have.
Gaethje expects the lightweight division to sort itself out over the coming months. Arman Tsarukyan is scheduled to face Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 on September 19, with that fight potentially having major implications for the title picture.
