UFC President Dana White, McGregor's challenge to Gaethje following his title victory should be seen as another strategic feint.
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Justin Gaethje’s aspirations of stepping into Michael Chandler’s role in the Conor McGregor equation appear to have fizzled out. According to UFC President Dana White, McGregor’s public challenge to Gaethje following his triumphant “BMF” title victory should be seen as another strategic feint, a classic maneuver employed by the two-division former champion to keep both the media and his adversaries on their toes.
This indicates that the much-anticipated showdown between coaches, a pledge made to fans at the culmination of The Ultimate Fighter 31, where coach Chandler outperformed McGregor in the reality TV contest, remains on track. As far as White is aware, the scheduled coach-versus-coach clash is set to proceed as intended.
“I talked to Conor, either yesterday or the day before, and yeah, he’s ready to fight,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I said, ‘Listen, get in shape and let’s figure this out.’”
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In response to inquiries about Chandler’s standing as McGregor’s opponent, White firmly confirmed, “definitely Chandler.”
“He likes to f*** with everybody,” White added. “You know what I mean? Especially his opponent, or possible opponents.”
McGregor gave a strong impression of intending to bypass Chandler as his forthcoming adversary, vowing to administer a resounding defeat to Gaethje following his UFC 291 triumph, wherein he vindicated a previous loss against Poirier by delivering a ferocious head-kick knockout.
The uproar generated by McGregor’s statement was impactful, enough so that Gaethje extended a challenge to McGregor, urging him to formalize the bout with a signed contract—this move followed Gaethje initially dismissing the idea, citing his concerns about “The Notorious” using performance-enhancing substances.
As of just this Monday, McGregor asserted that the UFC’s enthusiasm for Chandler had waned. Nevertheless, White affirmed that such a notion couldn’t be farther from the truth.
At this point, it seems the remaining steps for McGregor involve gearing up for the fight and, presumably, fulfilling a mandatory six-month period within the drug testing pool, overseen by the UFC’s anti-doping collaborator, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. This procedure is obligatory for athletes who have exited the drug testing pool.
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