News Based Justin Gaethje willing to be backup for Khabib vs Ferguson fight under 1 condition.

[Matthew Fedler]

So, is the UFC supposed to announce Gaethje as a backup? That would probably do more harm than good, as it's a way of saying "we're not sure Tony-Khabib is happening.

Everyone already feels that way anyways. Better to know there is a backup plan instead of potentially no fight at all. Khabib vs Gaethje or Tony vs Gaethje are great fights in their own right.

 

[awymore]

Seems like a terrible negotiation by Justin. He should be asking for his full pay not just the cost of training camp. He's missing out on at least one payday if he sits that long.

 

[EXOICHO]

Having "official" backups would legitimize the UFC too much for Dana to allow it

 

[TRUS8888]

Fight for free too. I mean he should be happy that the ufc is paying to give him exposure.

He should pay the ufc to fight on their cards.
After all it's the UFC that's allowing these fighters to make that insane instagram money

 

[Joseph_McBride]

Kinda getting sick of Gaethje's attitude lately. He acts way too entitled for a guy 3-2 in his last 5 fights.

I would have no problem w/ him being the backup, but he should be booked on the same card. And he should want that Poirier fight back. I can't say a lot of good things about Conor but at least he was adamant about avenging his losses to Nate & Khabib.

 

[magicmarker]

Sadly, Conor is probably the back up.

Fighting 3 months ahead of them, Conor is absolutely the backup plan. UFC probably going to ‘Tonya Harding’ Tony’s knee after his plane lands in NYC that week.

 

[magicmarker]

They should schedule Gaethje vs Conor on the same card as Khabib vs Ferguson.

Make pay-per-views great again!

 

[Kono dio da!]

Nate vs the best leg kicker in the division...ouch. Justin would take his leg home as a trophy.

especially after the excuses he made for losing, I'd love nothing more than to watch him get the shit beaten out of him... Again

 

[vgff]

So, is the UFC supposed to announce Gaethje as a backup? That would probably do more harm than good, as it's a way of saying "we're not sure Tony-Khabib is happening.

what harm would it do? they had Pettis-Ferguson as backups at UFC 229 Conor vs Khabib, noone complained about that

 

[ShreddinMMA]

Makes sense. I'm good for it.

Gaethje vs either of them is a sweet matchup.

 

[mudrubble]

Fight for free too. I mean he should be happy that the ufc is paying to give him exposure.

And donate all his fight purses back to the UFC. He really owes them for all they're doing.

Then he can get on all fours and take care of that roach problem in the basement. And relinquish rights to his stapler.

 

[snackgod]

Now that Khabib vs Tony title fight is official, fight fans have four months to sit on their edge of their respective seats, praying that nothing goes wrong prior to fight night.

Injuries and Tiramisu have forced the cancellation of the previous four bookings, so you can’t blame the mixed martial arts (MMA) community for being a little cautious when it comes to getting overly-excited for this fight. Heck, even UFC president Dana White was a bit nervous when considering booking the fight once again.

But if the promotion doesn’t want to be left high and dry a fifth time, it would behoove the UFC powers that be to have a backup in place.

That’s where Justin Gaethje comes in.

“Highlight” recently told Luke Thomas that while it isn’t his preference to serve as backup, he is willing to do so as long as the promotion covers all his training costs to prepare for the title fight.

It’s not a bad proposal, and UFC has been known to pay fighters to serve as backups in the past just in case something goes wrong. And givem the track record of Khabib and Ferguson, if there was ever a time to have another man on standby, this is it.

im not seen anyone ask anyone else but i think fighters who were signed as fill ins were paid there show money based on there last fight.

 

[snackgod]

Gaethje should be fighting on the card. He can be in camp preparing for an actual fight and preparing to make championship weight and to go 5 rounds. If something goes wrong with either Khabib or Ferg then he is ready. If nothing goes wrong then he still has a fight.

than the other fighter would lose out who signed to fight justin

 

[mmacasualviewer]

Conor is going to fight on both high profile cards.

 

[Coolkid666]

pay to train...psshhh

 

[Block Obama]

That’s not too much to ask for

 

[kevinramsdell]

I really don’t see why Justin is adamant he’s the number 1 contender. Yea he has 3 first round finishes. But against James Vick (horrible, probably cut) Barboza (on a downward spiral has lost 4 of his last 5 fights) and Cerrone (has lost 6 of his last 10). Before this little run he was knocked out in back-to-back fights. I’d like to see Gaethje get a big win by rematching Dustin and beating him in a 5-rounder. Sitting around refusing to fight anybody is retarded. Maybe he feels entitled because LW is very thin at the moment. Nobody outside of Tony or Dustin really deserved a title shot and Dustin was mauled. So he’s at the back of the line for now.

Now that Khabib vs Tony title fight is official, fight fans have four months to sit on their edge of their respective seats, praying that nothing goes wrong prior to fight night.

Injuries and Tiramisu have forced the cancellation of the previous four bookings, so you can’t blame the mixed martial arts (MMA) community for being a little cautious when it comes to getting overly-excited for this fight. Heck, even UFC president Dana White was a bit nervous when considering booking the fight once again.

But if the promotion doesn’t want to be left high and dry a fifth time, it would behoove the UFC powers that be to have a backup in place.

That’s where Justin Gaethje comes in.

“Highlight” recently told Luke Thomas that while it isn’t his preference to serve as backup, he is willing to do so as long as the promotion covers all his training costs to prepare for the title fight.

It’s not a bad proposal, and UFC has been known to pay fighters to serve as backups in the past just in case something goes wrong. And givem the track record of Khabib and Ferguson, if there was ever a time to have another man on standby, this is it.

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Pay the man!
This fight needs a legitimate backup, Justin gonna sit out till after this anyway.

 

[Portland8242]

Kinda getting sick of Gaethje's attitude lately. He acts way too entitled for a guy 3-2 in his last 5 fights.

I would have no problem w/ him being the backup, but he should be booked on the same card. And he should want that Poirier fight back. I can't say a lot of good things about Conor but at least he was adamant about avenging his losses to Nate & Khabib.

Seems like he's bought into his own hype. I know the guy's coming off 3 first round KO's but he's gonna get humbled real quick with the attitude he's carrying nowadays.

 

[Doughie99]

I actually think it really is a very good idea to have a credible & competitive fighter who is training and ready to step up and I think it is perfectly reasonable for UFC to add the 3rd persons total training costs into their event-budget as an ancillary cost.

The absolute LAST THING anyone wants (the fans, the UFC, the event venue, ESPN, Khabib, Ferguson) is for the fight not to happen for whatever reason.
And if either Khabib or Tony falls by the wayside again, I can't think of anyone more exciting than Gaethje to step in and save the main event.

It's a safety net, and it's a very sensible thing to do.

Pay for the safety net to be there. Is Normal.