Justin Gaethje has slammed the upcoming clash between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone by branding it a "freak show."
The 31-year-old UFC fighter was heavily linked as McGregor's first opponent in his UFC comeback, but he has since missed out on those honours to Cerrone.
But Gaethje has hit out at the Irish UFC superstar's decision to fight at welterweight and questioned what it will do for his career going forward.
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He told SiriusXM: "I mean, it's a freak show, man. I don't know what to make of it.
"For me, I think it's good, it takes [McGregor] out of the picture.
"It kind of clears the path to what needs to happen.
"Fighting at 170 [...] I don't know how in his mind he can say, 'I'll fight in 170 and then fight for the world title next.'
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"I'd like to think it is because he doesn't want to fight me, but I don't think I'm that scary. I don't understand it.
"If he wants to fight for a world title, he has to get another win in the lightweight division.
"I'm sure he knows that he's gonna put pressure on Dana [White] and the UFC to give him a title fight after [...] if [...] he beats 'Cowboy' at 170.
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"Or maybe he'll fight someone else at 170, I'm not sure what he's doing."
McGregor, 31, has been out of the octagon since his devastating defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018.
But he announced in October that he would return to the octagon in 2020 and is lined up to clash with Cerrone on 18th January at UFC 246.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Donald Cerrone, Conor Mcgregor, Justin Gaethje, Notorious, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA