Justin Gaethje Picks Conor McGregor Fight over Settling Scores with Former Opponents

Despite having multiple losses on his UFC resume, reigning lightweight champion Justin Gaethje isn't worried about settling the scores with the opponents he lost to. Instead, 'The Highlight' expressed that an encounter with Conor McGregor is currently the top priority on his list.

Gaethje also explained why he isn't concerned about avenging his losses to the likes of Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira, who are still in the picture.

Justin Gaethje’s Last Victory Makes him Pick McGregor Over Former Opponents

Gaethje's UFC career contains five losses, out of which three opponents have already hung up their gloves, leaving Oliveira and Holloway as the only viable contenders for a rematch. While fighters like Sean O'Malley avenged their defeats first after claiming the divisional title, Gaethje expressed that he doesn't feel the need to take the same path considering the results of his UFC Freedom 250 encounter.

'The Highlight' appeared in a recent YouTube video from UFC on Paramount+ where he mentioned there's "no one" from his former opponents whom he would like to fight again. Gaethje considered the names of Holloway and Oliveira, but ultimately rejected the thought since they had both been beaten convincingly by Ilia Topuria, who he obliterated at UFC Freedom 250.

The reigning lightweight king said, "If I could pick anybody that fought in my career before, who had to fight again? Damn, there's really no one. It would have been Oliveira or Holloway, but since Topuria beat them, I'm going to go ahead and justify it to myself as I got him back."

Gaethje didn't waste many more words to reveal the fight that he currently wants most. "So, I guess it's McGregor," he said, "Fun to shut him up."

Considering McGregor's return to the octagon at UFC 329, the materialization of Gaethje's wish is theoretically possible. However, 'The Notorious' returned to the UFC as a welterweight, and nothing can be said about whether he will agree to fight at lightweight once more.

Currently, McGregor is focusing on his recovery from the torn ACL and has yet to issue his response about Gaethje's desire to "shut him up." The Irishman also shared a WWE meme on X in late August to display how the recovery process has been far from easy. 

However, considering that McGregor's next encounter is the last one in his current contract, Gaethje's stature makes him a good choice, especially since 'The Notorious' also might decide to call the curtains on his UFC career after the fight.