Israel Adesanya pushes Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje superfight
Israel Adesanya wants to see Conor McGregor fight Justin Gaethje next, calling the potential matchup a payday big enough to feed countries.
Gaethje upset Ilia Topuria at the UFC White House this past Sunday to claim the undisputed lightweight title, setting up a decision on his first title defense. McGregor returns against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11, and while Holloway holds a knockout win over Gaethje from UFC 300, Adesanya believes the Irish superstar is the real money fight. "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, per MMA Fighting. "It would feed everybody, World Vision."
Why McGregor-Gaethje makes more financial sense than Tsarukyan
McGregor has not fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 five years ago, and the former two-division champion faces Holloway in a 170-pound rematch of their 2013 featherweight bout. Adesanya questioned whether the volume-punching Holloway is the right comeback opponent, saying McGregor should have taken the shelved Michael Chandler fight instead. "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," Adesanya told the podcast. "But look, if anyone rises to the occasion, it's the Notorious one, Conor."
Arman Tsarukyan sits at No. 1 in the lightweight rankings and has a technical case for the next title shot, but Adesanya suggested the UFC will follow the bigger payday. "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," he said. Tsarukyan withdrew from a championship fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 and has had a strained relationship with the promotion since.
Gaethje could defend the lightweight title against the winner of McGregor-Holloway before the end of the year, according to Adesanya's timeline.
Original reporting:
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