There was talk about a potential bout between Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor for a while, but things didn’t pan out.
Gaethje instead stepped up on short notice to beat Tony Ferguson, winning the interim lightweight belt, upping his profile further and setting up a future title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor on the other hand, has announced yet another retirement, and says it stems from issues with the UFC during negotiations.
McGregor’s coach feels that it was a lost opportunity, and wishes it pushed through. Considering both the stylistic match up and the potential upside from a victory, John Kavanagh said the matchup with Gaethje is the best possible bout for the former two-division champion.