Justin Gaethje still doesn’t seem to be interested in fighting Conor McGregor.
Gaethje takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title unification fight in the UFC 254 headliner next weekend. Should he come out on top, he will not only be the unified lightweight champion, but will have done so by defeating Ferguson and Nurmagomedov en route to the feat.
As for fighting McGregor afterwards? It’s getting less and less enticing.
“I said it before, I’ll say it again, he’s losing all his pull here,” Gaethje told TMZ. “Especially when he put those text messages out. Not a smart move, not a smart move.”
Of course, if Gaethje were to become champion, he would be foolish not to face McGregor. After all, it’s still a huge fight and would mean even more eyeballs and a bigger paycheck.
That said, “The Highlight” isn’t bothered about who he will fight in the future — because becoming the first fighter to defeat Nurmagomedov is more than enough to cement his legacy already.
“You know, for me, wrestling my whole life, when you were champion you didn’t think about others,” Gaethje said. “You just thought about not letting someone take that from you. When I get this belt, the target will be on my back and I will have no need to call anybody out.
“So who knows. Honestly it wouldn’t matter. It wouldn’t matter who I fought after I beat Khabib. This is will cement my legacy and that’s the only thing I’m here for.”
What do you think of Gaethje’s comments?