Justin Gaethje is targeting a return to the octagon in the first quarter of 2023. Gaethje’s coach Ali Abdelaziz is plotting a high-caliber bout for his fighter and has hinted at a lightweight clash against Conor McGregor.
Gaethje, however, has his reservations about fighting McGregor, who’s been on the sidelines for over a year nursing a broken leg.
Gaethje believes ‘The Notorious’ might be taking steroids to heal his leg and doesn’t want the fight in that case. The 33-year-old recently told MMA Fighting:
“If he’s on steroids, then give me steroids and let’s go, I’m down with that. My health is my biggest factor. I have never taken a performance-enhancing drug, and I do not want to fight people that are taking performance enhancing drugs… I don’t even know how it works, I don’t even know how steroids work. I’m sure there’s windows, I’m sure it will [eventually] be fine, I’m sure he can come back and be clean, but the fact that he hasn’t been drug tested tells me he’s taking steroids, whether it’s to heal his leg or not.”
Watch Gaethje’s comments below (9:34):
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Conor McGregor will “absolutely, never again” fight for belts, says Justin Gaethje
Justin Gaethje was recently asked about a potential clash against Conor McGregor. According to Gaethje, his chances of fighting McGregor have increased after losing to Charles Oliveira in his last fight as the Irishman only fights opponents coming off losses.
On a serious note, however, Gaethje doesn’t see the matchup happening as he believes McGregor won’t return to the octagon. ‘The Highlight’ recently told Marc Raimondi of ESPN:
“I mean I lost, so there is a much greater chance that that will happen. He only fights people coming off losses and here we are. I don’t think it’s gonna happen at all. I think there’s about a zero percent chance…Why would he fight? I don’t think he fights.”
When asked if he was confident of McGregor having retired, Gaethje did not entirely dismiss the idea of the former lightweight champ fighting strictly for entertainment. Having said that, ‘The Highlight’ doesn’t see McGregor making another run for a UFC title. He said:
“I mean a fight for purely, strictly, enteratinment value, possibly. But as far as coming back and being a competitive athlete, trying to fight for a title, absolutely never again.”
Watch Justin Gaethje’s comments on Conor McGregor below (4:40):