Justin Gaethje vs Conor McGregor: 3 Reasons why UFC needs to make this fight happen
Following a significant churning out process over the last year, Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor have emerged as two fighters who are still high up in the rankings. However, both fighters are at the risk of losing their place among the top crop of the division with one more loss.
As Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and former Bellator champion Michael Chandler have all staked their claim at a potential title fight, Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje’s recent losses leave them out of the title picture at the moment.
With that in mind, UFC should seriously consider matching up The Highlight and The Notorious One for these three reasons.
#1 Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje have history between them
Following Justin Gaethje’s win over Tony Ferguson in May 2020 and the uncertainty surrounding his title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov due to travel restrictions, Conor McGregor wasted no time to call out The Highlight on Twitter for an interim title fight.
Inclined to further his legacy by taking the ‘0’ away from Khabib’s record, Justin Gaethje showed no interest in fighting McGregor who was coming off a loss and had fought only once at Lightweight in almost four years.
Gaethje’s quest for a lasting legacy came to a pause following his loss against Khabib at UFC 254 and scoring a win over McGregor can significantly increase raise his stock once again.
#2 They’re big names that UFC can’t risk
Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje have both found themselves in a unique situation. Not only are they both coming off a loss in their previous fights, but they have both lost to champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier.
While putting either of these fighters against Khabib or Dustin threatens to permanently end their title aspirations, squaring them up with up-and-comers will push them further down in the rankings if they end up losing.
Putting them up against Michael Chandler or Oliveira and risking their streak is not a viable option either which makes the fight between them even more inevitable.
#3 An assured finish or an instant classic
Only three of the combined wins between Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje have been determined by the judges’ scorecards. Despite his collegiate wrestling background, Gaethje has never even initiated a grappling exchange in his entire UFC career so far.
What makes this fight even more interesting is the fact that The Highlight has some of the most devastating leg kicks in the Lightweight division, a major flaw in Conor McGregor’s game. Gaethje, however, has worrying stats about no. of strikes absorbed per minute and when someone is fighting a precision striker like McGregor, it does not take a long time for the lights to go out.