Justin Gaethje is hoping to compete for undisputed gold when the UFC White House card arrives in June. But if lightweight champion Ilia Topuria hasn’t returned to the octagon following personal troubles, Gaethje is willing put his title unification dreams aside to entertain a fight against Conor McGregor.
Since making the switch over to the octagon, ‘The Highlight’ has emerged as one of the most captivating fighters the sport has ever seen. The 37-year-old has amassed an astonishing 15 fight bonuses in 15 UFC fights thus far in his career, but all of his success came after McGregor’s reign of terror.
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The pair didn’t coincide at the heights of the game long enough to reasonably cross paths inside the cage, but that could be about to change. Despite Justin Gaethje’s retirement talks, with fans preparing to see him one final time, there may be a path to more fights for the 155er.
“I’m 37,” Gaethje said as he reflected on his career. “It’s been one fight at a time since day one. I’ve always had the chance to be the best in the world. As soon as that is not attainable anymore, then I will not need to fight.”
“We’ve been close, but every single time I’ve come back. You know, I lost to [Charles] Oliveira, came back strong. Lost to Khabib [Nurmagomedov], came back strong. Lost to [Max] Holloway, come back, you know, two in a row right now. So, I’ve always come back and put myself in a position to fight for the belt again.”
Justin Gaethje continues to compete at the highest level and is keeping prospects at bay while doing so. With a title fight potentially on the horizon, all focus will go to the UFC White House card for Gaethje, but he has made a promise to himself should he suffer another knockout loss in his coming fights.
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“If I was to get knocked out again, I will be done,” Gaethje continued. “I would not allow myself to go through that again.”
“Yeah, [I would retire if I got knocked out], that’s what I’m saying. I’ve already made that decision internally. That’s my choice… And then ultimately with the loss, I would also then lose the opportunity to ever attain the championship belt.”
While retirement is now an ever-present topic of discussion around Justin Gaethje, his next fight isn’t certain to be his last.
If all goes to plan and Gaethje manages to shock the world and capture the undisputed UFC lightweight title on the south lawn of the White House, furthering his career is a possibility.
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“I absolutely believe [I can be the best in the world], 100%,” Gaethje said. “Especially with how crazy this game is, how big of a fan I am, how many unpredictable things have happened. I can absolutely knock Ilia Topuria out on the White House lawn… If I knock out Ilia Topuria, I’m sure I would keep fighting.”
The opportunity to call himself the UFC lightweight champion is what gets Justin Gaethje out of bed in the morning. But if Ilia Topuria doesn’t return in time, Gaethje has begun flirting with the idea of having Conor McGregor as an opponent.
“If they came to me and said, ‘Do you want to fight McGregor on the White House card instead?’ I would think about it. That’s it…”
“That [McGregor fight] takes the opportunity to be the best in the world away from me. That’s why I fought so hard to get here. I have made the decision to not fight him, instead wait for a belt, and I think I would reconsider this time because of where we’re at.”
“So, I’m not against it. At all.
