Coach: Conor McGregor Would Put Justin Gaethje To Sleep
John Kavanagh believes Conor McGregor would knockout Justin Gaethje if they ever fought. The 31-year-old Irishman has come under fire for overlooking Gaethje for his comeback fight. ‘The Highlight’s’ manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has claimed McGregor wants nothing to do with fighting Gaethje, a guy known for taking his opponents into deep water.
However, the SBG head coach, despite calling Gaethje a ‘very good competitor,’ believes he represents a favorable style matchup for McGregor. Speaking to The Mac Life he broke down the opponent and the potential fight.
“Just to look at Gaethje as an opponent: very good competitor, hard hitter, comes forward, lot of pressure, exciting fighter. Him matched up against Conor at some stage would be fantastic. I think that would be a great fight. I think the fans would love it. I think stylistically it suits Conor. Conor uses a huge amount of pressure, but I think he’s actually better countering. But he doesn’t counter like most counter fighters by just staying out of range and moving backwards, [an] enormous amount of pressure, gets a reaction, puts you to sleep.
“I think that’s what would happen in a Justin fight, considering how he fights. That being said, solid competitor and it’d be a great fight.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
Before any of this can become a reality ‘Notorious’ has the not so small matter of Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone standing in his way. The Dubliner will make his long-awaited return to the octagon on Jan 18 at UFC 246. If he wins, he could well be next in line for a title shot according to Dana White.
The former featherweight and lightweight champion has openly spoken about being ready to step in if either Khabib Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson fall out of their 155 title fight at UFC 249 in April.
How do you see Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje playing out?