Justin Gaethje thought he would be the man to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 246. Unfortunately for Gaethje that wasn’t the case. McGregor ended up defeating Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds.
Ironically Gaethje’s last victory came against Cerrone as well. In the most updated lightweight UFC rankings, Gaethje (#3) jumped McGregor (#4) in the standings. McGregor in the buildup to UFC 246 even spoke about a potential Gaethje.
However, Gaethje thinks that McGregor’s win doesn’t change all that much for him. He sees that ultimately many decisions are based on business and politics. Dana White stated that McGregor would get a rematch for the title against Khabib Nurmagomedov before Gaethje. He opened up about his thoughts on the Punchlines Podcast co-hosted by fellow UFC fighter Corey Sandhagen.
“To be a superstar you have to win and have something special. I want my something special to be recognized as knocking people out. I can’t sell myself and be a different person on camera and a different person off-camera”.
That man is good. Bitch move to take that fight. Say my name @TheNotoriousMMA
— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje)
Gaethje did not take anything away from Conor McGregor and his stardom. He praised McGregor for being the face of the UFC but admitted he doesn’t want stardom but just remain focused on fighting.
“It takes a lot of intelligence to do something like that. It takes time and energy to keep that act up. I want to remain focused on fighting.
Gaethje understands the fine combination of business and politics involved in the business.
“I could have been front row last night for the fight and made a scene. And maybe I’ll miss an opportunity because I wasn’t there”.
John Kavanagh recently told ESPN he would like McGregor to fight Gaethje next. This should be some encouragement for Justin. Dana White at the post-UFC 246 press conference made clear he and Justin Gaethje need to talk in the next few weeks to get on the same page. If Gaetjhe and White come to terms, there is a chance we see the McGregor vs Gaethje fight before the summer.