Israel Adesanya believes Justin Gaethje should aim for a blockbuster matchup with the Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 winner rather than defending against No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan.
Gaethje, the UFC lightweight champion, is coming off a win over Ilia Topuria in the UFC Freedom 250 headliner at the White House in Washington. Tsarukyan currently sits as the top contender for Gaethje’s belt, but Adesanya has a different idea for the champion’s next move.
“So Arman, I'd say popularity wise, his stock is boom, shot up. He's doing the right thing. But I think Gaethje sitting frontside at the Max vs. Conor (fight) in Vegas, he's already got the story there with Max. He wants revenge. But also Conor and Gaethje would feed familie. It would feed f*cking countries. That would be crazy,” Adesanya said.
McGregor and Holloway are set to rematch in the main event of UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor has already floated the idea of facing Gaethje, saying on The Ariel Helwani Show, “I think Gaethje, when he's on, he's good. He's OK,” and adding, “But when he's off, he's atrocious. I fancy him handily. I fancy teeing off on Gaethje.”
Adesanya, a former UFC middleweight champion, also emphasized the importance of focus at the elite level, saying of Gaethje, “You've got to be in the gym. I know this; you know this. You've got to be at least as active as possible.”
