{"id":325102,"date":"2019-09-11T12:36:45","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T19:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=325102"},"modified":"2019-09-11T12:36:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T19:36:45","slug":"justin-gaethje-names-the-only-opponents-hell-accept-after-cowboy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/justin-gaethje\/justin-gaethje-names-the-only-opponents-hell-accept-after-cowboy\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Gaethje names the only opponents he’ll accept after ‘Cowboy’"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weekend, in the main event of UFC Vancouver, Justin Gaethje will step into the Octagon with a fellow fan-favorite in Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. If Gaethje is able to defeat Cerrone, who he considers a friend<\/a>, he believes he’ll be right near the summit of the lightweight mountain, and will only accept a few fights thereafter.<\/p>\n

One, he says, is a fight against the winner of an expected but yet unscheduled title fight between divisional champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and top contender Tony Ferguson. The other is a fight with a man he’s become increasingly hostile toward; former two-division champion Conor McGregor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s two options for me \u2014 whoever wins [Khabib Nurmagomedov] against Tony or I fight Conor [McGregor],\u201d Gaethje told MMA Fighting<\/a> ahead of his UFC Vancouver gunfight with Cowboy. \u201cThose are the two options I\u2019ll be looking at when I\u2019m done.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGregor, interestingly, recently divulged that he was briefly considering accepting a fight with Gaethje, though it never came to fruition. Gaethje claims he heard nothing of this potential bout, and isn’t sure he believes it was ever truly on the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea how close it was [to being made],\u201d Gaethje said. \u201cI\u2019m sure the UFC was really hounding him to fight. He probably said he was going to fight. He probably said he would fight me and then he probably broke his hand before I found out is what I\u2019m guessing or it\u2019s just not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the case, Gaethje still seems plenty willing to step into the cage with the Irish star. It’s all about proving himself as the best lightweight on earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to be the best in the world. He\u2019s in the way,\u201d Gaethje said of McGregor.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYou have to be a fool to say I\u2019m not one of the best in the world,\u201d he added, looking back on the lone losses of his career. \u201cI fought Dustin Poirier, he was fighting for the world title. Eddie Alvarez is world class and I fought stupid fights against them. I didn\u2019t fight my best fight. I\u2019m right here. I\u2019m not going anywhere for a couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who do you want to see Justin Gaethje fight next if he’s victorious against Cowboy?<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPENN.COM<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 9\/11\/2019. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This weekend, in the main event of UFC Vancouver, Justin Gaethje will step into the Octagon with a fellow fan-favorite in Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. If Gaethje is able to defeat Cerrone, who he considers a friend, he believes he’ll be right near the summit of the lightweight mountain, and will only accept a few fights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":324842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10134,25154,39610],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nJustin Gaethje names the only opponents he'll accept after 'Cowboy' | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje discusses his next step if he's victorious against Donald Cerrone in Vancouver.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/justin-gaethje\/justin-gaethje-names-the-only-opponents-hell-accept-after-cowboy\/\" \/>\n<meta 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