Justin Gaethje has argued that he should be the man to challenge the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson. So, after Dana White recently said that Conor McGregor could secure a title shot at UFC 246, the contender was quick to fire back.

Gaethje responds to White

Since it’s been confirmed that McGregor is going to fight Cerrone on January 18th, Gaethje has opined that he’ll be next for the winner of Khabib -Ferguson. Gaethje’s logic being that since he’s won three straight, and that includes quickly putting away Cerrone, he’s ahead of McGregor. The latter just fought Nurmagomedov last October and was submitted in round four.

Recently BT Sport released an interview, however, in which White said the following (quote via MMA Junkie):

“If Conor can get through ‘Cowboy’ and if Khabib can get through Tony, then we’d be looking at a rematch between Conor and Khabib down the line here pretty soon.”

That prompted the response below from Gaethje:

Lol at @danawhite “if Conor gets through Cowboy”… what a crock of sh-t

Can you really blame Gaethje?

Now, even if you’re the biggest McGregor booster, you have to admit that Gaethje’s comment here is understandable. Not only has he made his case for a title shot from a meritocratic perspective, but he campaigned for a bout with McGregor and didn’t get it. Further, plenty of people have argued that McGregor and his team decided to take a more favorable match-up in Cerrone.

That said, White’s comments should come as a surprise either.

Due to how massive Nurmagomedov – McGregor 2 would be, rankings and meritocracy will get thrown out the window. But, all this assumes that both Conor and Khabib win their next fight, and that the latter would agree to fight his rival again. Nurmagomedov has repeatedly said that McGregor needs to win multiple fights before he deserves another shot at the belt.

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, meanwhile, are fighting on April 18th.

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