UFC: Dana White rebuffs Justin Gaethje over Conor McGregor complaints
- UFC president says McGregor ‘next in line’ for shot at Khabib if he beats ‘Cowboy’ – despite fight being at welterweight
- ‘It’s a 155-pound fight they’re not cutting weight for,’ says White – ‘we’ve offered Gaethje a lot of fights he hasn’t taken’
Justin Gaethje has been making a lot of noise about the injustice of Conor McGregor potentially leapfrogging him for a shot at the lightweight title.
Now UFC president Dana White has confirmed McGregor would be “next in line” to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov if he dispatches Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246 on January 18.
“Come on guys,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Look what Conor’s done over the last however many years. Then he loses to Khabib in a fight that was, when you talk about bad blood, it’s like the next level of bad blood.
“Gaethje was on his way up too. We’ve offered Gaethje a lot of fights that Gaethje hasn’t taken either. So Conor is in line next for the fight if he beats Cowboy.”
Former featherweight and lightweight champion McGregor certainly has the resume to command a rematch with Khabib, who submitted him in October 2018 – the Irishman’s last appearance – before a brawl erupted between their teams outside the cage.