"It's good for me" - When Justin Gaethje revealed how Conor McGregor will fight him to avenge Khabib Nurmagomedov loss
Justin Gaethje once stated that he expected to face Conor McGregor in the octagon, as the Irishman was trying to secure a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
At UFC 229 in 2018, McGregor faced Nurmagomedov in one of the most infamous bouts in MMA history. Their clash is not only remembered for 'The Eagle' picking up a fourth round submission win, but also for the chaotic brawl that ensued following the fight.
The Russian leapt out of the cage to attack Dillon Danis, and 'The Notorious' was sucker punched by a member of Nurmagomedov's entourage before security eventually stopped the pandemonium.
After a number of fines and temporary bans, McGregor then returned to action in Jan. 2020 to face Donald Cerrone. He dominated the bout from the start and finished 'Cowboy' in just 40 seconds.
Following Conor McGregor's win over Cerrone, Gaethje spoke with Brett Okamoto about a potential bout against the Dublin native. At the time, Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Tony Ferguson.
'The Highlight' then stated that if McGregor wanted a rematch against the Russian, he would have had to fight him first. He said:
"If Khabib wins, Conor's gonna have to fight me to get that fight. If Tony wins, I think Conor will fight him...If you're gonna take opportunities off my table, I'm gonna fight you. Khabib is very true to his word [That McGregor must fight Gaethje before a rematch] so it's good for me."
Catch Justin Gaethje's comments here (2:00):
Justin Gaethje is not willing to do a quick turnaround to face Islam Makhachev
Justin Gaethje is set to defend his BMF title against Max Holloway at UFC 300 this weekend.
The bout has raised questions surrounding the title picture in the lightweight division, as Charles Oliveira is scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan on the same card, which has also been billed as a No.1 contender bout.
According to 'The Highlight', however, even if he picks up a victory over Holloway on April 13, it won't force him to do a quick turnaround between fights in order to face Makhachev before either Oliveira or Tsarukyan.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Gaethje explained:
"I don't think I need to. I don't think [I want to]. Because a training camp involves putting yourself through extreme situations. You know, your body gets tired, fatigued, sore. None of us go into a fight 100% and I want my time...I want my time to rest, decompress. I think that every single fight is a traumatic life experience and I think you need to take the time, the personal time, to recover mentally [and] physically after that
Catch Justin Gaethje's comments here (17:50):