Conor McGregor called out by Justin Gaethje for vacant title after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC retirement

Defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov has not dampened Gaethje’s appetite to be seen as the best

Justin Gaethje says he’s ready for Conor McGregor (Zuffa/LLC via Getty Images)

Justin Gaethje says he’s ready for Conor McGregor’s latest comeback and has invited the Irish fighter to face him for the lightweight title.

Despite defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Gaethje says he’s back to being the number one after the Dagestan-born victor immediately announced his retirement from MMA after extending his record to 29-0.

McGregor is reportedly preparing to fight Dustin Poirier early next year, after performing another U-turn after a third retirement.

But Gaethje says if McGregor wants the belt, it’s him he’ll have to defeat.

“With him retiring, I'm No. 1," he said. "Poirier and McGregor are going to fight. They haven't made it official, so if McGregor wants to bounce out and get the belt, then I'm right here.

“If they want to give it to someone else, then so be it. But I'll be ready. I'm ready to fight again. This is my job. This is my life. I love it so much.”

McGregor had tweeted a scathing assessment of Gaethje’s performance against Nurmagomedov, suggesting his “overall fear of the central positions being truly embarrassing”, though the message was later deleted.

Gaethje also suffered a TKO loss to Poirier in 2018, before embarking on a four-fight win streak which was halted by this latest defeat to the now-retired Khabib.