Conor McGregor hits out at ‘bird brain’ Justin Gaethje over UFC threat
Gaethje has claimed he might leave the UFC if McGregor receives a title shot by winning his next fight
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Conor McGregor has called Justin Gaethje a ‘bird brain’ for threatening to leave the UFC if the Irishman receives a title shot in the near future.
McGregor is due to fight Michael Chandler later this year, while the pair’s fellow lightweight Gaethje is fresh off a win over Rafael Fiziev this month.
Gaethje, a former interim champion who has twice failed to win undisputed gold in the UFC, outpointed Fiziev at UFC 286 in London on 18 March, moving himself a step closer to a third title shot.
However, many in the sport feel that McGregor will receive a title fight if he beats Chandler, a scenario that could lead Gaethje to leave the UFC, per the American.
“Would I quit if Conor won and they gave him a title shot? Probably,” Gaethje told ESPN this week. “That’s how hurt I would be by the actions of the company I represent, but that’s out of my control. I just really hope that doesn’t happen. We can imagine a lot of things, but there’s a possibility that that’s the scenario, which I would be devastated [by] for sure.”
McGregor has since responded, writing in a now-deleted tweet on Thursday (30 March): “This braindead fool got a title shot off of one single win and it was vs chandler. Yet he will quit and retire if I get the same thing.
“Classic [gaethje] bird brain. #Jacka** Two Title attempts. No wins.”
Gaethje became interim UFC lightweight champion in 2020, but he failed to unify the titles with then-official champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later that year. Gaethje, 34, was submitted by Khabib but bounced with a points win over Chandler in 2021. His next fight was a title shot against Charles Oliveira last May, and again he lost via submission.
Meanwhile, McGregor has not fought since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in his second straight loss to Dustin Poirier.
The Irishman is a former dual-weight UFC champion, having held the featherweight and lightweight belts simultaneously in 2016. The 34-year-old has also fought at welterweight three times in the UFC, and the weight class for his bout with Chandler is as yet unknown – as are the date and location.
Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
0Comments