Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh says that fight against Justin Gaethje "stylistically suits" the Irishman
Conor McGregor usually gets to choose whoever he wants to face. Since Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to face Tony Ferguson, the Irishman needed another contender to start climbing the ranks again.
January was the perfect time for him and he had three major options - Justin Gaethje, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, and Dustin Poirier. While the latter wanted the fight, he underwent a procedure and is expected to return around March or April.
Many felt that Gaethje was the right man since he's on a 3-fight winning streak, all of which were by knockout. The last man he finished? Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Incidentally, Cerrone is the man who McGregor eventually chose to face.
Many have viewed it as a "tune-up" fight for McGregor, something that surprised Dana White. The UFC President was surprised at the "level of disrespect" shown to "Cowboy" Cerrone in the build-up.
Many felt that McGregor "ducked" Gaethje due to the potential prospect of being knocked out. McGregor's coach John Kavanagh begs to differ. Speaking to The MacLife (H/T BJPenn.com), he said:
“Just to look at Gaethje as an opponent: very good competitor, hard hitter, comes forward, lot of pressure, exciting fighter,” Kavanagh said. “Him matched up against Conor at some stage would be fantastic. I think that would be a great fight. I think the fans would love it. I think stylistically it suits Conor. Conor uses a huge amount of pressure, but I think he’s actually better countering. But he doesn’t counter like most counter fighters by just staying out of range and moving backwards, [an] enormous amount of pressure, get’s a reaction, puts you to sleep.
He concluded by praising Gaethje and the potential prospect of the fight.
“I think that’s what would happen in a Justin fight, considering how he fights,” he added. “That being said, solid competitor and it’d be a great fight.”
The idea of McGregor vs Gaethje is certainly an interesting one. Gaethje is the man many believe is next in line for a Lightweight title shot after April 18th and when he finished Cerrone, he said that he intends to wait it out.
If McGregor plans to fight 3 times a year in 2020, then a prospective fight against Gaethje could be on the cards as Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has shown no interest in a rematch against The Irishman.
Until then, it's going to be a showdown with "Cowboy" in over a week.