Conor McGregor dismisses Justin Gaethje callout ahead of UFC 329

Conor McGregor has no interest in facing Justin Gaethje after his UFC 329 return this weekend.

The new lightweight champion called for a fight with McGregor following his win over Ilia Topuria at UFC White House, telling reporters he would be ringside Saturday and that he would love to punch McGregor in the face. McGregor responded to the callout at Wednesday's media day by bringing up Gaethje's knockout loss to Max Holloway last year. "Join the queue," McGregor said, per MMA Fighting. "Look, he has the lightweight belt, fair play to him. Holloway put him face down, a** up [at UFC 300], though. Badly."

McGregor eyes third UFC title after five-year layoff

McGregor added that he is not even considering a drop to lightweight, focusing instead on what he called the triple crown — a third championship to go with his featherweight and lightweight belts from earlier in his career. He closed the exchange with a direct message to Gaethje: "Less with the disrespect, you f*cking bum."

The Irishman acknowledged the questions surrounding his return after five years away and a broken leg suffered in his last outing in 2021. "Nothing better than proving people wrong," he said. "People are entitled to their opinion. Some are valid. There's some questions. Time out. Injury. Lifestyle. I know."

McGregor meets Holloway on Saturday at UFC 329, a rematch of their 2013 featherweight bout that McGregor won by decision.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Conor McGregor calls Justin Gaethje a ‘f*cking bum’: Max Holloway put you ‘face down, ass up’