Don’t get too excited about the reports going around suggesting Conor McGregor could fight Justin Gaethje this summer.
According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on this week’s “Ariel Helwani MMA Show,” there have been talks about having McGregor face Gaethje later this summer. However, according to Gaethje’s manager Ali Abdelaziz, those rumors are false. The camp seems to be of the same belief as UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, wanting to see McGregor win a few more before getting a fight against a top contender.
“This rumor about @Justin_Gaethje fighting vs @TheNotoriousMMA is absolutely false. He had the opportunity to fight him already instead of cowboy but he didn’t. Justin is the number one contender and like khabib said. Conor needs to win 10 fights.”
This rumor about @Justin_Gaethje fighting vs @TheNotoriousMMA is absolutely false. He had the opportunity to fight him already instead of cowboy but he didn’t. Justin is the number one contender and like khabib said. Conor needs to win 10 fights.
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) February 25, 2020
McGregor returned to Octagon action last month in the UFC 246 main event on pay-per-view (PPV). The Irishman took out Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in 40 seconds in their welterweight headliner. After the fight, McGregor doubled down on his claim that he wants to be active in 2020. “Mystic Mac” is hoping to fight anywhere from three to four times this year.
A match-up between McGregor and Gaethje would certainly be an interesting one. However, he could also run things back with Nate Diaz, as the two are one apiece against each other inside the Octagon.
