In the UFC’s 155-pound lightweight division, it’s almost impossible to put together a bad or uninteresting match-up. The division homes several of the sport’s most exciting competitors. Perhaps the most exciting of them all regardless of division is ‘The Highlight,’ Justin Gaethje.
With only five fights in the UFC to this point, the former World Series of Fighting champion has gone 3-2 and earned a performance bonus in each of those outings. Thus giving him six in total as his debut against Michael Johnson earned fight and performance of the night honors. His first three bouts were all nominated as a fight of the year candidate as well.
Although his last two outings haven’t been the typical drawn out Gaethje wars that we’re accustomed to, they’ve still been incredibly impressive and fun in their much-condensed versions. The Arizona native earned back to back first round knockouts over the likes of James Vick and Edson Barboza thus keeping him right in the mix with the very best that the division has to offer… So why not Conor McGregor?
Well, according to Gaethje’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, the fight has indeed been offered to ‘The Notorious’ former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion.
“Yo, McTapper. You’re offered to fight @Justin_Gaethje, you going to man up and fight, or your soul still hurting from that 🦅 ass whipping? Justin will take you to a different level of deep waters. @TheNotoriousMMA” Abdelaziz tweeted.
This past Saturday night during UFC 236, Gaethje would also allude to this possibility himself when tweeting out; ‘Fuck your money. You in it or not @TheNotoriousMMA.’
For McGregor, he is currently fresh off of his suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his post-fight actions at UFC 239. Since then, the Irishman has found himself in multiple law related incidents and teased his retirement. Despite all that, he continues to call out most fighters headlining the latest fight nights. At the beginning of this month, UFC President Dana White said that he plans to figure things out with McGregor in the coming weeks.
As much as the MMA world would love to see the match-up next, what’s next for both McGregor and Gaethje remains to be determined.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/16/2019