Justin Gaethje is preparing for a big fight with Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC Vancouver this weekend, but he has his future plans laid out — which could include a showdown with Conor McGregor.
Justin Gaethje spoke to the media following his UFC Vancouver open workout on Wednesday night and was asked about his recent comments about McGregor and would love to fight him. While many believe the winner of Saturday’s headliner will fight McGregor in his Octagon return, Gaethje would certainly be down for that, or a shot at the potential lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
You can watch Gaethje’s response to McGregor in the video below, courtesy of TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter on Twitter.
Just like in the octagon, Justin Gaethje pulls no punches when discussing his feelings about Conor McGregor pic.twitter.com/z6XlTwEPZA
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 12, 2019
“I’ll take the winner of Khabib and Tony and if that guy, that little Irish f**k wants to come back then I’m right here, man. I’m the perfect guy to bring him back,” Justin Gaethje told reporters Wednesday night.”
Gaethje, who revealed in the scrum that he almost had to withdraw from the fight with Cerrone due to an eye infection, was then asked about his recent comments in regards to the former featherweight and lightweight champion. Gaethje would call McGregor “a s**t human, father and husband and, as expected, Gaethje doubled down on those statements.
“I will never stray from the truth,” Justin Gaethje explained. “That’s the truth. There’s nothing else to it. It had nothing to do with fighting, nothing to do with wanting to get a fight. He wants to write some bulls**t? Facts are facts! You cannot represent yourself in the public eye like that and expect your child to respect what you do. You are an influence. You are a hero to your children and you are a fool if you don’t think they are going to follow in your footsteps.
Conor McGregor recently stated in an interview with Ariel Helwani that he was supposed to fight Gaethje in July at Madison Square Garden. The event at MSG didn’t materialize, nor did the fight after McGregor broke his hand during training. When asked about that potential matchup, Gaethje explained that it was news to him.
“He’s the only one that knew about that,” Justin Gaethje said. “I didn’t know. I’m ready to fight. After I’ve seen him punch an old guy… I’ve got a human services major. I wanted to do social work. Being here is just a circumstance of my life. I’ve worked since I was 4 and I wanted to try fighting. I won 25 fights in a row and I was fighting Eddie Alvarez on a pay-per-view.
“I wanted to be a social worker and to see him treat people like that, to see him… even before he took someone’s phone and smashed it on the ground, to see him walking around with his chest in the air, you do not represent yourself like that. I will never respect you!”
Do you think Justin Gaethje should fight Conor McGregor if he defeats Donald Cerrone at UFC Vancouver?