Ahead of his return at UFC 329, MMA superstar Conor McGregor bashed UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, whom he called “atrocious.”
McGregor returns to the Octagon on July 11 at UFC 329 when he fights Max Holloway in a welterweight rematch.
Ahead of his fight, Nate Burleson of UFC on Paramount+ interviewed McGregor and asked him what he thinks about Gaethje, who defeated Ilia Topuria to become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion at UFC Freedom 250 in one of the single-most incredible performances in MMA history.
But McGregor was far from impressed.
Conor McGregor Not Impressed by Justin Gaethje
When asked what he thinks about Gaethje, McGregor admitted that he is not impressed by the new UFC lightweight champ.
“Max has flatlined Justin. He knocked him out, face down, out cold. Justin’s OK. When he’s on, Justin’s OK. When he’s bad, he’s atrocious, he’s woeful. He slaps his punches a lot. But, he’s very, very durable, and he’s unorthodox in his style,” McGregor said.
Justin Gaethje Open to Fighting Conor McGregor
In a recent interview with Jim Rome, Gaethje said that he is open to fighting McGregor in his first UFC lightweight title defense, should he get past Holloway at UFC 329.
“I would love — as I’ve stated hundreds of times publicly — I would love to punch Conor McGregor in the face. So yeah, I’m excited about that fight. I’m excited to be there and watch it,” Gaethje said.
“There’s no doubt he’s one of the biggest superstars in the sport, so fighting a guy like that obviously does great things for me financially, and for my legendary status.”
We’ll see what the UFC ends up doing if McGregor wins, as he’s said that he wants to stay at welterweight, where the champion is currently Islam Makhachev.
But there is no doubt that a McGregor vs. Gaethje fight would do huge business for the UFC, and since the promotion is in the business of making the biggest fights possible, don’t be surprised at all if this is the next fight that gets booked for the UFC lightweight title if McGregor gets past Holloway at UFC 329 next month.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Conor McGregor Bashes ‘Atrocious’ Justin Gaethje appeared first on HEAVY.