"I want that opportunity to take him away from the sport forever" - Justin Gaethje is determined to end Conor McGregor's MMA career
Justin Gaethje has some hard work ahead of him at UFC 274 when he takes on Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title. The oddsmakers have Gaethje a slight underdog coming into his home state of Arizona, but that hasn't stopped him from visualizing who he may fight next after he wins the 155-pound belt.
In a new interview with the Full Send Podcast, Gaethje said:
"At the end of the day, after I win this fight there's two people that are next in line. There's Beneil Dariush and [Islam] Makhachev, and they need to fight each other. And if Conor McGregor's there I think he's just as, uh, rightfully available as the other two. Because they need to fight. So I say either everyone deserves it or nobody deserves it. Someone needs to stand out. And yeah, whoever. I want that opportunity to take him away from the sport forever."
Gaethje added that he'd accept all challengers, saying:
"The best part, when you're the champion the target's on your back. I'm not going to be looking back. At the end of the day I will be the champ and whoever's next will be next. I just gotta keep preparing myself, keep eating properly, keep isolating myself, take away all distractions. And yeah, then I'll be done one of these days."
.@Justin_Gaethje on why the UFC doesn't want to book him against Conor McGregor: "You can't lose how you lose to me. He can't. If he loses how you lose to me, he can never be Conor McGregor again." https://t.co/8DmX2izydl
Justin Gaethje has had bad blood with Conor McGregor for years, but these days he believes 'The Notorious' would rather accept more favorable match-ups than fight him. With McGregor currently looking too big to cut down to lightweight, we may never see this guaranteed barnburner of a fight.
Watch The Full Send Podcast with Justin Gaethje below:
Justin Gaethje plans to keep fight with Charles Oliveira on the feet and earn a knockout
Charles Oliveira is dangerous on the feet and on the ground, but he holds twice as many submissions (20) as he does knockouts (9). He's definitely more threatening on the mat, which is why Justin Gaethje insists he's not going to let their UFC 274 title fight go there.
Make History, Charles Oliveira!
@CharlesDoBronxs gets another submission win, which gives him the most submission wins in UFC history! https://t.co/S5DMZ9Q1MD
In an interview with BT Sport, Gaethje said:
"I am 23-3 and only one guy has ever taken me down and he won. So, I am not gonna go out there and let someone else take me down. I'm gonna cause serious damage. I'm the most accurate striker that you're ever gonna see in this octagon. It doesn't look like this. It looks like chaos but every bit of it is planned and controlled and timing is everything. I have the fastest reaction from A to B and I count on that and trust in that."
Watch BT Sport's interview with Justin Gaethje: