Justin Gaethje recently registered a memorable KO win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 and became the BMF champion. Following his win, Conor McGregor called out ‘The Highlight’ for a potential showdown. However, UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier believes Gaethje should not consider a fight against ‘The Notorious’.
Daniel Cormier and Ryan Clark recently sat down for another edition of the ‘DC &RC Show’, discussing the next logical step for Justin Gaethje in the UFC. The new BMF champion recently got into a verbal agreement with Conor McGregor for a fight in the not-so-distant future. But ‘DC’ believes that it may not be a wise decision for ‘The Highlight’.
Daniel Cormier suggests Justin Gaethje aim higher than McGregor
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The UFC Hall of Famer believes that the next logical step for the new BMF champion is to go for the lightweight title. Otherwise, nothing will make sense for him. Cormier said, “Title fight. It’s title fight or bust for me.” Daniel Cormier also mentioned that Gaethje has been working to get an opportunity to fight for the title and that’s where his focus should be at. He added, “This guy needs to be able to fight for a championship because that’s all he did and that’s all he wants to do.”
The former two-division champion also mentioned what ‘The Highlight’ said after his fight against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286. This is his last run to get a title shot and now Gaethje has the chance to fight for the title. The Hall of Famer also spoke about the lightweight star’s status as the number-one contender. According to ‘DC’, that’s something he should capitalize on for the opportunity to face the winner of Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2.
Cormier further stated, “He is the number 1 contender, and rightfully so. He is the guy who should be challenging for a championship.” However, the Hall of Famer could not help but list the upsides of facing Conor McGregor.
Fighting Conor McGregor can help ‘The Highlight’ become a bigger star
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Daniel Cormier believes that Justin Gaethje can always come back to fight against former double champion Conor McGregor after fulfilling his title ambitions. He said, “The Conor McGregor fight will come back around.” But there is an air of uncertainty about whether the fight will take place or not.
However, there is a great advantage in fighting the Irishman. Much like Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who became bigger stars after defeating McGregor, the same could happen to Justin Gaethje. Daniel Cormier further added, “If you beat Conor McGregor [and] not only fight Conor McGregor, you become a massive star. We have seen that happen for Dustin Poirier [and] we’ve seen that happen for Khabib Nurmagomedov.”
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As of now, Justin Gaethje’s winning momentum has put him in a position where he can call his shots. He has a lot of options for opponents. But the most logical step, according to Cormier, is gunning for the title shot. What do you think? Drop your comments below.
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