Israel Adesanya thinks Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje isn’t just the best matchup for both fighters, it’s what’s best for business.
Gaethje reached another level of stardom this past Sunday when he upset the previously undefeated Ilia Topuria in the UFC White House main event to finally become undisputed lightweight champion. The win sets Gaethje up for another big money fight next—assuming he doesn’t decide to retire and go out on top—and an opponent for his first title defense could emerge from McGregor’s comeback fight with Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
There’s history between Gaethje and Holloway, with Holloway having scored a dramatic last-second knockout over Gaethje at UFC 300, but in Adesanya’s eyes, McGregor is where the real money is.
“I think Gaethje sitting frontside at the Max vs. Conor in Vegas, he’s already got the story there with Max, wants revenge, but also Conor and Gaethje would feed families, it would feed f*cking countries, that would be crazy,” Adesanya said on the MightyCast. “It would. It would feed everybody, World Vision.”
McGregor and Holloway also previously fought back in 2013 when the two were up-and-comers in the featherweight division. It was McGregor who walked out with a decision win that night in a bout where McGregor actually tore his ACL. Both fighters went on to capture UFC titles, with McGregor winning belts at 145 and 155 pounds, and becoming the biggest name in MMA.
On July 11, McGregor and Holloway rematch at 170 pounds, with “Notorious” not having fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 five years ago. Adesanya questions whether Holloway is the most sensible choice for McGregor’s return.
“Look, reality is reality and Max is reality, so dealing with that for your first fight back, I reckon he should have done the [Michael] Chandler fight, to be honest,” Adesanya said. “Chandler, they have the story there. Chandler f*cking sat how many years of his career waiting for this fight? It was too long. Even if it’s two or three years, it’s still too long to be sitting around waiting. … As a comeback fight, Max is a volume puncher, a guy who is just going to be in your face with legs, hands, that’s not an easy fight to come back to. But look, if anyone rises to the occasion, it’s the Notorious one, Conor.”
Also waiting in the wings for a shot at Gaethje is the No. 1 lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. The popular fighter has lost just twice in 12 UFC appearances, but he’s had a rocky relationship with the promotion ever since an injury forced him to withdraw from a championship fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 at the last minute, and it’s unclear when or if he’ll be given another chance.
Either way, Adesanya thinks there might be too much money in a McGregor or Holloway fight for Gaethje to pass up on.
“Technically, [Tsarukyan], he should be the next guy to fight Justin, that would be a crazy fight, but the UFC likes the narratives they can create and the one with Conor or Max, revenge match with Max, that would be insane,” Adesanya said. “They probably do it the end of the year.”
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