Justin Gaethje: I Want to Knock Conor McGregor Out in Ireland

UFC lightweight star Justin Gaethje has said he would love the chance to fight Conor McGregor in Ireland and would fancy his chances of scoring a big win.

Gaethje beat Edson Barboza at UFC on ESPN 2, finishing the contest with a shuddering right hand in the first round.

Speaking to TMZ, the 30-year-old said he has now got his eyes on bigger opponents and would love the chance to face McGregor away from home:

"[Conor's] a warrior. I know that it would intrigue him for sure. But, I also think his mind would be like 'no, thank you.'"

"He can't take my leg kicks. If I wanted to wrestle him, I could wrestle him all day. And, I could knock him out. The last thing he needs to be is f--king on his back reaching for the sky and I will, I could do that to him. [...]

"I wanna fight [Conor]. I wanna fight him in Ireland. I know it's not gonna happen in Ireland, but that's my dream. To go over there and be in that sorta chaos. That's what f--king wakes me up every day."

The fifth-ranked UFC lightweight has previously told TMZ he would like to face the winner of Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier. If he was to win that, Gaethje said he would want to take on unbeaten UFC lightweight champions Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Gaethje is clearly keen to get his name around at the end of a brilliant week for him. Here's a reminder of his brutal knockout win over Barboza (U.S. only):

MMA broadcaster Luke Thomas paid tribute to Gaethje after one of the biggest wins of his career so far:

McGregor's long-term future is still unclear. Last month he posted on social media that he was retiring from the sport. The same day, Tariq Panja of the New York Times reported McGregor is under investigation by Irish police after a woman said he sexually assaulted her in a hotel in Dublin in December.

He has also recently been involved in a number of bitter exchanges with Nurmagomedov online, and the Irishman then seemed to suggest his MMA days were not yet finished, as he posted the following bulletin inferring he would be ready for a rematch with Nurmagomedov:

McGregor has not been in action since he was beaten by the Russian at UFC 229 in October 2019. He eventually submitted in the fourth round of the contest, and after the fight, members of both men's coaching team entered the Octagon, prompting a mass brawl.

McGregor was hit with a six-month suspension for his conduct, whereas Nurmagomedov was banned for nine months.