It’s been quite a ride for Justin Gaethje these past eight months.
After beating Donald Cerrone via technical knockout in September 2019, the former Northern Colorado all-American wrestler called out the winner of a future Tony Ferguson-Khabib Nurmagomedov fight. A month later when Conor McGregor was looking for an opponent, Gaethje (22-2) threw his name into the hat.
McGregor overlooked him in favor of Cerrone. And the eternally cursed Ferguson-Nurmagomedov bout was once again canceled. But that opened up an opportunity for Gaethje, who was a last-minute substitute in for lightweight champion Nurmagomedov and defeated Ferguson last Saturday for the interim UFC lightweight title.
Now the cards are in his hand. So, what’s next for Gaethje?
A bout against McGregor would certain be a big payday. The Irish fighter already : “Justin, there is no danger in a man that hugs legs, we all know. Try and dance around what the real threat is here all you want. I am going to (expletive) butcher you. Your teeth. I’m going to put them on a (expletive) necklace.”
But UFC president Dana White has other plans.
“We’re talking about doing Gaethje vs. Khabib in September,” White said in a post-fight press conference Wednesday. “… I talked to Khabib yesterday and he said ‘September, I’m ready to go in September.'”
Gaethje shared similar thoughts in the : “No, I want the biggest challenge in the world and that’s Khabib.”
— , The Denver Post
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