Conor McGregor ducked Justin Gaethje

It's stupid to call it ducking, but whatever. He's less likely to get injured in a Cowboy fight. It makes for more money. UFC might have preferred it too.
I generally dislike the word too. It’s used so frequently with MMA fans that it’s lost most or all its meaning.

But taking a fight at 170 against a guy on a two fight losing streak with the assumption that if he wins he gets a 155 title shot is just so maddening that I’m willing to be a bit melodramatic myself.

So...He fucking ducked Justin!!!

But seriously. He negotiated an easier fight for the same payoff and reward. Everyone would take an easier fight for the same money. That he is allowed to is the real problem.
 
I agreed with the TS whole post, except: "I don't think Conor is afraid to fight anyone....." Conor is definitely afraid of of Gaethje.
 
Was he offered Gaethje?

How would I know that?

This is what we do know:
-Conor wants the rematch with Khabib
-Gaethje is the #1 contender at LW
-Conor chose to fight Cowboy at 170 to 'earn' his rematch
 
He did tell Cowboy he'd fight him though and people said he ducked Cowboy when he fought Nate. Glad he took the Cowboy fight but Agree Gaethje is more dangerous.
 
What makes you so sure that it was Conor's decision and that he still has 100% control at this time?

If Conor had that kind of power then he would have gotten the immediate rematch with Khabib.

Conor explicitly referenced the UFC determining the opponent before this fight was announced, and alluded to it coming down to Cowboy and Gaethje, stating that he didn't care which opponent the UFC chose.

What makes you think that Dana didn't want it this way? I'm pretty sure Dana likes the idea of a rematch that did 2.4 million buys and absolutely shattered the previous UFC record.

Conor took the Mendes fight on short notice and fought Mayweather and Khabib back to back, there is no reason to think he ducks fights....
 
He ducked jorge hard.bad mouthed him before saying nate was better and went silent when jorge won.
 
When Conor vs Cowboy at 170 got announced, I assumed Conor was targeting Nate and Masvidal next.
Now we know that the rematch with Khabib is next (if Conor and Khabib both win).

How can you justify Conor fighting Cowboy at 170 for a rematch with Khabib at 155?

Conor has managed to skip over the number one contender at 55, and fight the guy he just finished, at a different weight class, to earn a title shot at 55.

I don't think Conor is scared to fight anyone, but there's no way around this.
Conor McGregor ducked Justin Gaethje.

justin-gaethje-conor-mcgregor.jpg


But why?

1) Justin has been ruthless in his trash talk of McGregor.
2) Justin is obviously far more dangerous than Cowboy at this point.
3) Why risk fighting Justin when you can 'earn' a title shot off the ghost of Cowboy?

Discuss.

I agree..i made thread stating the same thing

This will be second time he's done this if it happens..

Unbelievable
 
I agreed with the TS whole post, except: "I don't think Conor is afraid to fight anyone....." Conor is definitely afraid of of Gaethje.

Yes. He's obviously affraid of the guy who lost vs Alvarez, who became "a can" by being destroyed by Conor.
 
This is what makes it even worse.

Aside from cardio pace and toughness, Justin isn't the worst match up for Conor.
He's a sloppy brawler who leaves himself open to be countered on the feet.
Exactly....

He does the overeem/poirier/lauzon thing where he parries and lets the opponent unload on him as well a lot. Hes the type of guy that takes two to give one.

Not sure how that would go against conor. Doesnt seem like the best of styles to pair against him
 
What makes you so sure that it was Conor's decision and that he still has 100% control at this time?

If Conor had that kind of power then he would have gotten the immediate rematch with Khabib.

Conor explicitly referenced the UFC determining the opponent before this fight was announced, and alluded to it coming down to Cowboy and Gaethje, stating that he didn't care which opponent the UFC chose.

What makes you think that Dana didn't want it this way? I'm pretty sure Dana likes the idea of a rematch that did 2.4 million buys and absolutely shattered the previous UFC record.

Conor took the Mendes fight on short notice and fought Mayweather and Khabib back to back, there is no reason to think he ducks fights....

If you want a rematch against the champion, you should be fighting the number one contender.

The UFC probably wanted him to fight Cowboy, I'm not denying that.

Because they know it's the easier fight and they want Conor to win.
 
If you want a rematch against the champion, you should be fighting the number one contender.

The UFC probably wanted him to fight Cowboy, I'm not denying that.

Because they know it's the easier fight and they want Conor to win.

Yes but ultimately it's their decision and I don't think it's accurate to label Conor a duck.

Gus got a title shot after being KO'd in the first round and he's not half the star Conor is.
 
How would I know that?

This is what we do know:
-Conor wants the rematch with Khabib
-Gaethje is the #1 contender at LW
-Conor chose to fight Cowboy at 170 to 'earn' his rematch

Exactly, we don't know if he even got offered it. Maybe the UFC wasn't even interested in it. So calling it ducking is presumptuous.

Conor likes to make his own rules. He doesn't have to fight the #1 contender. He likes to pick fights that interest him. He just wants Khabib. He doesn't really want to earn it, so why would he go be the logic of earning a fight the way other fighters with less pull do.

IMO, he doesn't do it to avoid Justin. He just does it because Cowboy interests him more. One reason is that Cowboy has been respectful, just like Frankie was. There is also history there. Rankings never have meant much to him since the beginning of his career, so why should they now? He considered himself the champ and the best from the get go.
 
Yes but ultimately it's their decision and I don't think it's accurate to label Conor a duck.

Gus got a title shot after being KO'd in the first round and he's not half the star Conor is.

We're talking about a guy who will "retire" if he doesn't like how negotiations are going.
Fighting the ghost of cowboy at 170, while the #1 contender sits without a fight a LW?

I can accurately call that a duck.
Willingly being protected, at best.
 
Exactly, we don't know if he even got offered it. Maybe the UFC wasn't even interested in it. So calling it ducking is presumptuous.

Conor likes to make his own rules. He doesn't have to fight the #1 contender. He likes to pick fights that interest him. He just wants Khabib. He doesn't really want to earn it, so why would he go be the logic of earning a fight the way other fighters with less pull do.

IMO, he doesn't do it to avoid Justin. He just does it because Cowboy interests him more. One reason is that Cowboy has been respectful, just like Frankie was. There is also history there. Rankings never have meant much to him since the beginning of his career, so why should they now? He considered himself the champ and the best from the get go.

Then Conor is more interested in fighting guys who just got chinned, rather than those in title contention.

No way this fight should earn him a shot at Khabib.
 
I generally dislike the word too. It’s used so frequently with MMA fans that it’s lost most or all its meaning.

But taking a fight at 170 against a guy on a two fight losing streak with the assumption that if he wins he gets a 155 title shot is just so maddening that I’m willing to be a bit melodramatic myself.

So...He fucking ducked Justin!!!

But seriously. He negotiated an easier fight for the same payoff and reward. Everyone would take an easier fight for the same money. That he is allowed to is the real problem.

He most likely is still getting PPV points, so it wouldn't be the same pay off.
 
That's silly.
He's fought 1 time in 3 years.
Taking the cowboy fight isn't ducking anyone. It's a tune up fight. And a dangerous one he could lose at that.

Was Jon ducking DC and Gus when he fought OSP?
 
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