Dana White Makes Case For Why Conor McGregor Should Pass Justin Gaethje For Title Shot, if he Beats Donald Cerrone

Recently Dana White relayed that if Conor McGregor beats Donald Cerrone next month, and if Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Tony Ferguson in April, the UFC is going to work on booking a rematch between the rivals. White’s comments didn’t exactly, or shouldn’t have, surprised anyone. But, if you’ve been waiting for White to outline why McGregor apparently deserves a shot at the title over Justin Gaethje, read on.

White outlines why McGregor should pass by Gaethje

Ever since it was announced that McGregor is going to fight Cerrone on January 18th, many observers have predicted the UFC will look at giving McGregor another title shot, if he’s victorious at UFC 246. More recently, White confirmed that if both McGregor and Nurmagomedov win their upcoming bouts, booking a rematch is the UFC’s plan.That, not surprisingly, didn’t sit well with Gaethje, who has won three straight fights in emphatic fashion and is coming off a quick win over Cerrone.

Well, while speaking with ESPN, White had this to say while making his case for why McGregor could pass by Gaethje (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“Come on guys, Conor, look what Conor has done over the last however many years, right?,” White said. “Then he loses to Khabib, in a fight that was you know, when you talk about bad blood, that was like next level of bad blood. Gaethje was on his way up too. We’ve offered Gaethje a lot of fights that Gaethje hasn’t taken either. So, Conor is in line next for this fight if he beats ‘Cowboy’.”

“Because Conor wants to fight three times this year and he’s hoping that if he beats Cowboy, he can turn right around and fight Khabib,” White said. “That timing and math isn’t going to work out but you know Conor, Conor thinks the way Conor thinks. So his thing is, I’ll fight Cowboy, I’ll beat Cowboy, I’ll be ready to fight Khabib at 155 if anything happens, because we’re going into Khabib-Tony again. So in Conor’s mind, Conor would be ready for that fight.”

Will White’s explanation silence Gaethje boosters and critics?

So, there’s a couple of things to look at here, in terms of White’s comments. First off, what “Conor has done”: if what he’s “done” includes making the UFC truckloads of money, then okay. Even people who don’t believe McGregor should fight for the belt, if he wins at UFC 246, understand that business considerations play a massive role, if not the deciding one.

But, if by “done”, we’re looking at McGregor’s record, that doesn’t hold up as much. He never defended the lightweight title after winning it in 2016, and in his return bout against Khabib last October, he lost pretty convincingly. White also argued in the interview that people are disrespecting Cerrone because of his recent losses. But, through a meritocratic lens, nothing can change the fact “Cowboy” did lose to Gaethje and Tony Ferguson.

All this debate, of course, could have been prevented by booking Gaethje – McGregor. But, here we are.