Conor McGregor calls out Justin Gaethje after UFC 291
Conor McGregor is attempting to reshuffle the lightweight division after Justin Gaethje’s head kick knockout of Dustin Poirier at UFC 291. The former two-division champion sent a string of shots in Gaethje’s direction on Twitter.
Justin, I’ll slap you around
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 30, 2023
I’m the real bmf, he can fight for pennies if he wants but I want spirits, I call the shots, I’m in it to launch shots, fuck chandler, you want it call for it.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 30, 2023
Is mise bad mother fucker conas atá tú
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 30, 2023
I’m harngry https://t.co/HCbhTyqofA
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 30, 2023
Gaethje, who in all likelihood earned a title shot with his UFC 291 victory, did not seem enticed by McGregor’s call out.
“I think he has turned me down six times,” Gaethje said at the UFC 291 post-fight press conference. “Usually you have to lose to fight him so I don’t know what is going on.”
“I fight MMA, I like to fight big fights, I like exciting things,” Gaethje later added. “I’m not going to fight someone on steroids. I’ve never taken steroids in my life, never will, well maybe when I retire I might, but I’ve never taken steroids and I don’t want to fight someone that’s cheating. I probably should not even say that if I want the fight, but it’s the truth.”
Justin Gaethje responds to Conor McGregor: “I’m not gonna fight someone on steroids” #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/DMd7vwnYUy
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 30, 2023
A potential McGregor and Gaethje bout has been discussed in the past. Although, the pair have never been booked against one another. In 2020, Gaethje was in the running to be McGregor’s opponent for his UFC return. Ultimately, McGregor and the UFC selected Donald Cerrone, who was coming off a knockout loss to Gaethje.
At the moment, McGregor is expected to fight Michael Chandler. The pair were booked as coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 31 which typically results in a fight. The bout is not official, however. That leaves the door open for the fight to fall through.
McGregor’s callout leaves Gaethje in a position to pick between a title fight and a money fight. If he takes the title bout, he will fight the winner of the Islam Makhachv and Charles Oliveira rematch that is set to go down in October at UFC 294. Otherwise, McGregor is the quickest route to a massive paycheck.
McGregor could be planning for the long run with his call-out as well. A fight against Gaethje could make sense in the future depending on how each man’s next fight goes. Regardless, after a sensational knockout over Poirier, Gaethje will have a lot of appealing opportunities in the near future.
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