Conor McGregor has branded his UFC lightweight rival Justin Gaethje a "braindead fool" after the American said he would quit the sport if the Irishman got a world title shot.
Gaethje and McGregor's rivalry stems from a dispute between the ex-two-weight world champion and the former interim champion's manager Ali Abdelaziz. The American has been pushing for a fight with McGregor over the last few years, but it never materialised and he instead pursued other options atop the 155lb division.
But with McGregor expected to return against Michael Chandler later this year after two years out of action, talk has begun to swirl of a potential world title opportunity for the winner. This infuriated Gaethje, who has said that it would be "devastating" for top contenders to see him granted a title shot after just one win in what would be almost three years.
“Would I quit if Conor won and they gave him a title shot? Probably,” Gaethje said in an interview with ESPN. “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, for sure.”
This caught the eye of McGregor, who tweeted and deleted a message slamming Gaethje, noting that his effort at Charles Oliveira for the lightweight belt came off a win over Chandler. The American has twice fought for the undisputed gold, first losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov after winning the interim title in 2020 and again last year against Oliveira, who submitted him.
"This braindead fool got a title shot off of one single win and it was vs chandler," McGregor wrote while quote tweeting a report from MMAFighting. "Yet he will quit and retire if I get the same thing. Classic gathje [sic] bird brain. #Jacka** Two Title attempt. No wins."
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And while a fight between the pair, once scheduled to take place in the summer of 2019 before a McGregor injure scuppered plans, would be massive it doesn't appear to be the American's next move. Instead, he seems keen on a rematch with old rival Dustin Poirier.
“I think the obvious fight is Poirier,” Gaethje said. “Not sure when, but I think that’s obvious with Charles Oliveira fighting Beneil Dariush coming up. The winner fighting Islam Makhachev probably towards the end of the year. I think I’m either gonna fight Poirier or the loser of Oliveira-Dariush. I think those are the only two fights that are out there for me.
“I’m a much different, more mature fighter as is [Poirier], but I think we’re two of the best in the world. Neither one of us have a fight lined up, so no-brainer. It leads to big title discussions. I gave the new guys a chance, they proved that they can’t crack it yet with the experienced [guys]. At the end of the day, it comes down to being able to fight a smart fight and not get tired.”
