Justin Gaethje responds to Conor McGregor’s knockout prediction with contract challenge

Maybe the seventh time is the charm for Justin Gaethje when it comes to fighting Conor McGregor.

Gaethje responded on Tuesday to McGregor’s latest tweet about him, a prediction of a “one shot” knockout win should they ever meet in the octagon.

Gaethje shrugged when asked about McGregor’s callout after his UFC 291 win over Dustin Poirier, citing previous turn-downs and what he alleged was steroid use. But he briefly changed his tune on the former two-division champ.

Gaethje, who claimed the “BMF” title by knocking out Poirier with a head kick, alleged McGregor had turned him down on six occasions about a potential fight. That was when he was on a mission to claim lightweight gold and climb the UFC ranks, and the former champ was a perfect target.

Now, McGregor is on the sidelines, still a question mark after agreeing to coach The Ultimate Fighter 31 opposite Michael Chandler. A drug testing deadline came and went for McGregor to participate on the year-end UFC 296 card (without an exemption from UFC drug testing partner U.S. Anti-Doping Agency), and his callout of Gaethje didn’t reassure the MMA world he intended to face the ex-Bellator champ.

UFC President Dana White hasn’t ruled out McGregor competing this year, though the Irish star’s next move is anyone’s guess.

Former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo advised Gaethje to think about the profit of fighting McGregor over the winner of an upcoming title rematch between champ Islam Makhachev and ex-champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 294, arguing the reward from a McGregor payday would outstrip any future gold.

“Justin, if I had to choose something, whether I wanted UFC [gold] around my waist, or about $10 million, guess what, I’m going for the $10 million,” he said his YouTube channel.