Conor McGregor hasn’t taken kindly to Justin Gaethje’s claim that he’d quit the sport if ‘The Notorious’ was awarded a title shot with a win over Michael Chandler when they fight later this year.
“Would I quit if Conor won and they gave him a title shot? Probably,” Gaethje had told ESPN. “That’s how hurt I would be by the actions of the company I represent. But that’s out of my control. I just really hope that doesn’t happen.
“We can imagine a lot of things, but there’s a possibility that that’s the scenario, which I would be devastated, for sure.”
Gaethje has a point given that McGregor has lost three of his last four fights, with his last win at lightweight coming all the way back in 2016 when he beat Eddie Alvarez to lift the title, before losing it in his next bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Nevertheless, McGregor put Gaethje on blast for trying to interfere with his title ambitions.
“This braindead fool got a title shot off of one single win and it was vs chandler,” McGregor wrote. “Yet he will quit and retire if I get the same thing. Classic gathje bird brain. #Jackass Two Title attempt. No wins. #geathje
It’s true that Gaethje’s second title shot did come off a single victory over Chandler following a loss in his first attempt to win the belt against Khabib Nurmagomedov, but unlike McGregor, he had won four fights in a row prior to that, with all ending by way of strikes.
Perhaps the two will fight at some stage in the future to settle their differences, but for now it’s Chandler who awaits McGregor next, while Gaethje has suggested that his next fight is likely to be against either Dustin Poirier or the loser of the upcoming Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush fight.
