Justin Gaethje won’t take things lightly if Conor McGregor jumps the line and gets a title shot upon return.
“If I don’t get the (title) shot, we riot. We go to war.” These were Justin Gaethje’s words ahead of his UFC 268 fight with Michael Chandler last month. And to his credit, “The Highlight” emerged victorious to secure his title contender spot.
But now, UFC superstar Conor McGregor is looking to jump the line and have himself a title shot upon his return. From his end, reigning champion Charles Oliveira accepted the challenge.
These talks about a possible McGregor-Oliveira title fight are firing Gaethje up once again. In his recent interview with TMZ, the 33-year-old threatens to wreck shop if this booking happens.
“I’d burn it all down. I’ll f—ng burn it down. That’s what I’d do.”
“He is so irrelevant. He has not won a fight since 2016 in the lightweight division,” Gaethje said of McGregor. “I’m ranked number one. I saw they updated the rankings, I’m number one now. That feels pretty good. Congratulations. Thank you, sir, I appreciate that. Let’s go!
“I’ll fight for the belt, man. My whole life, I’ve been working towards this. That is what’s next. If not, I’ll f—ng burn it down, it doesn’t matter. I will show up and start throwing dollies everywhere.”
If he does get to fight Oliveira wins the title, Gaethje isn’t willing to give the Irishman a shot just like that.
“I would absolutely not allow him to fight for the title if he did not win and go through the process. He’s not gonna shit on everything that we… there’s too many (others who are more deserving).
“Beneil Dariush, Islam Makhachev. Those are the guys that would fight. Not Conor McGregor. That’s not how this works. He’s becoming more and more irrelevant as time goes on.”
McGregor (22-6) has gone 1-3 in his last four fights. He’s currently on a two-fight skid courtesy of Dustin Poirier.