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TMZSports.com
Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler ain’t happening — at least not right now — so, with that fight seemingly on life support, fans have put forth another name — Justin Gaethje. But, is he interested??
The short answer is yes, according to the 35-year-old fighter’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz … who says the bigger question is whether McGregor would step into an Octagon with Gaethje.
“If this is what [Conor] wants, if this is what the UFC wants, I think Justin Gaethje will like to smash his face. 100%. I would love to see Justin Gaethje smash his face,” Ali told TMZ Sports, adding … “Everybody knows I don’t like this guy. None of us like him. But, he brings a lot of unique things to the table. And, Justin is open to it, fighting someone like him.”
However, Abdelaziz isn’t so sure he’ll actually fight, adding … “I personally don’t think [Conor’s] ever going to fight again.”
If McGregor is willing, so is Gaethje.
“Justin is on board. [Conor] wanted to fight the easier fight. Michael Chandler is the easier fighter than Justin Gaethje. [Chandler’s] not going to inflict as much damage on Conor. But Conor, he does his own thing, and he decides his own destiny.”
“And listen, I’m sure if [Conor] called the UFC and said, ‘Hey, I want to fight Justin Gaethje, and if I beat Justin Gaethje, I want to fight Islam Makhachev for the title, right?’ The UFC is going to sign on. But, I don’t know if he can compete at this level. And, maybe he is. Maybe he’s not. God knows.”
McGregor vs. Gaethje is a fight that’s been talked about for years, literally … but has never come to fruition.
Gaethje last fought at UFC 300 in April … a knockdown drag-out fight with Max Holloway. McGregor hasn’t been in an Octagon since 2021 — UFC 264 — when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. Conor was supposed to fight Chandler at UFC 303 in July, but pulled out with a broken toe. Michael, seemingly tired of waiting, has accepted a fight with Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 in November.
There’s much more in the full interview with Ali … including the revelation that Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s cousin, undefeated UFC fighter Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0) is gunning to break big cuz’s unmatched 29-0 record!