Justin Gaethje Calls For Conor McGregor To Be Removed From UFC Rankings

Justin Gaethje believes that former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor should be removed from the UFC rankings.

The current state of the lightweight division is tied up right now as the UFC has announced fights involving some of the top fighters in the weight class. That’s a problem for the former WSOF lightweight champion as he wants to fight someone ranked above him.

Former interim champion Tony Ferguson will face Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 238 on June 8th while Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis have agreed to fight at UFC 240. UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is out of action until September and the interim champ, Dustin Poirier, is waiting to fight Khabib. 

This where McGregor comes in as he’s ranked #3 in the division but is inactive.

Gaethje, who scored a first-round knockout win over Edson Barboza in a lightweight bout that served as the UFC Philadelphia headliner in his last fight, elaborated on his mindset during a recent interview with ESPN.

“Looking at the landscape, Conor McGregor [who last fought against Nurmagomedov in October] is No. 3 right now. If it’s not him, there’s not an open fight right now. So, that’s the fight I want. He’s No. 3. If he’s not going to fight, take him out of the rankings. I’d be cool with that, too, and we can move on from there. He’s the only guy ranked ahead of me that doesn’t have a fight. He needs a fight to get back to the title shot. That’s me.”