According to a very reliable source, Justin Gaethje was not happy to watch Conor McGregor lose to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257.
Dustin Poirier scored one of the first major upsets of the year and certainly the highest in profile when he defeated Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 257. One of the viewers of the bout was welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Usman had pitched a welterweight title fight to Conor McGregor last year after McGregor’s welterweight win over Donald Cerrone, but instead of being in the Octagon with McGregor, Usman was watching the fight unravel along with the rest of the spectators at home.
After watching Dustin Poirier chop away at Conor McGregor’s right leg before ultimately putting him out in the second round, Usman believes that one of the reasons McGregor lost is because he simply forgot he was competing in an MMA bout.
“I think that was kind of one of those things to where Conor was boxing and briefly forgot that this was a mixed-martial-arts fight,” Usman said in an interview with The Schmozone. “Because Dustin started kicking. And then, Conor tried to play little mind games as well, threw a kick, a high kick, that actually landed…that little spin kick. So I think those were moments where he kind of snapped back, like, ‘Oh, shit. I can kick.’ But by that point, your leg had already been chewed up for a little bit.”
Usman Reveals Gaethje’s Immediate Reaction to McGregor Loss
Kamaru Usman was not watching the UFC 257 main event alone. He was joined by training partner and friend Justin Gaethje. In the aftermath of the bout, Justin Gaethje expressed deep satisfaction in watching McGregor get his comeuppance at the hands of Dustin Poirier, but that isn’t the reaction Usman witnessed after the conclusion of the bout.
“Justin, actually, he walked up the stairs. And I think maybe at one point I heard him say, ‘Fuck!’
“Because that’s a fight that he wanted,” Usman revealed. “And that’s a fight that, rightfully so, he deserved. So he’s a competitor. And, of course, he wanted to compete against that man. And seeing that happen, I think it kinda poked at him a little bit.”
Indeed, not unlike Usman, Justin Gaethje has called for a fight with Conor McGregor in the past, but these hopes are now on ice for the near future. Neither McGregor nor Gaethje currently has a fight booked, but McGregor and Poirier have both expressed interest in having a trilogy fight, so we shall see what materializes in the lightweight division in the coming months.
What are your thoughts on Justin Gaethje’s reaction to Conor McGregor losing at UFC 257?
