Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, recently added top-ranked 155-pound contender, Justin Gaethje, to his 2020 hit list, one that includes reigning welterweight kingpin, Kamaru Usman.
That came as a surprise to manager Ali Abdelaziz, who is no stranger to “Notorious” fights after the UFC 229 grudge match featuring Khabib Nurmagomedov. In fact, the PFL castaway is confident McGregor would end up with a beaten ass.
“Listen, Conor does not want to have to do anything with Gaethje,” Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports (transcribed by Cole Shelton). “We understand, Gaethje takes a lot of people into deep water. We understand Conor is a quitter. He quits when he’s in deep water. Why the hell does he need to fight? The UFC made the right choice not to fight Gaethje because he would have beat his ass. Simple.”
Both McGregor and Gaethje have been in the news in recent weeks thanks to promotion president, Dana White, who told the combat sports media “Notorious” would get an immediate title shot with a win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.
The “Cowboy” contest is being held at 170 pounds and McGregor has just one lightweight victory in his UFC career, but the promotion needs his box-office biceps to help get the bottom line where it needs to be for endeavors like this.