Justin Gaethje recently took heat from some Conor McGregor supporters, over comments he made about the controversial fighter. But, as Gaethje gets set to fight Donald Cerrone at UFC Vancouver, the former WSOF champ isn’t about to walk back any of the statements.

Gaethje’s verbal assault on McGregor

Gaethje has been calling for a fight with McGregor for sometime. But, after a video surfaced showing McGregor sucker punch an elderly man earlier this year in Dublin, Gaethje said he wanted to pay the star back on behalf of the senior. Gaethje also blasted McGregor on social media over his recent incidents, and argued the fighter is a bad role model. Those comments  prompted the ire of some McGregor supporters.

“The Highlight’s” most recent comments

Well, Gaethje is in Vancouver in advance of his fight this Saturday with the aforementioned Cerrone. While talking to the media recently, Gaethje was, not surprisingly, asked about McGregor and some of the verbal shots he’s fired at the star. Here’s some of what the lightweight contender had to say (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“If that little Irish (expletive) wants to come back, then I’m right here, man,” Gaethje said. “I’m the perfect guy to bring him back.”

“Facts are facts,” Gaethje said. “You cannot represent yourself in the public eye like that and expect your child to respect what you do. You are an influence. You are a hero to your children, and you are a fool to think they are not going to follow in your footsteps.”

“I’ve got a human services major – social work,” he said. “Being here is just a circumstance of my life. To see him treat people like that, to see him take a phone, even before he takes the phone and smashes it, to see him walk around with his chest in the air like that, do not represent yourself like that. I will never respect you.”

There you have it, and Gaethje certainly isn’t the only person to express these views about McGregor. Even if you’re the biggest McGregor fan, or just respect his awe-inspiring skills as a fighter, you have to admit these incidents aren’t a good look for him or the sport. It should also be noted, however, that McGregor did apologize for striking the man.

Now it will be really interesting to see if McGregor is monitoring Gaethje and his comments. If Gaethje does win on Saturday, then booking a fight between McGregor and Gaethje seems like a no-brainer. Of course, you could really the same thing about a fight between McGregor and Cerrone, if “Cowboy” takes the UFC Vancouver headliner.

UFC Vancouver will be hosted by the city’s Rogers Arena.

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