Ali Abdelaziz: Conor McGregor 'using Justin Gaethje for hype,' won't ever fight him

Ali Abdelaziz won’t entertain Conor McGregor’s callout of Justin Gaethje.

After Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) claimed the “BMF” title with a head kick knockout of Dustin Poirier this past Saturday at UFC 291, McGregor expressed interest in fighting him.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is expected to face Michael Chandler after recently wrapping up Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which continues to air Tuesdays on ESPN until Aug. 15. But McGregor appears to be open to other options, and Abdelaziz thinks fighting Gaethje would not bode well for him at all.

“I don’t believe Conor McGregor will ever fight again, but if he fights again, he’s probably going to fight somebody coming off a loss,” Abdelaziz told MMA Underground. “First of all, for him to fight Justin Gaethje, he has to make 155 pounds. He has to pass multiple – multiple – USADA drug tests because we know what he’s been doing. (I’m not going to go ahead and accuse him because I never saw him.)

“Plus, if this is what he wants to be a part of his legacy, leaving out on a stretcher, fighting Justin Gaethje and getting stretchered out of the arena, let it be. But I feel he’s not man enough. He doesn’t have enough balls to fight someone like Justin Gaethje because I think Justin Gaethje will ruin him in front of his whole family and friends.”

Abdelaziz chalks off McGregor’s antics to simply a publicity stunt, echoing Gaethje’s words of McGregor allegedly turning him down on multiple occasions in the past.

“I believe he’s using Justin Gaethje for hype,” Abdelaziz said. “I believe he was offered Justin Gaethje six or seven times. He turned it down, and now he wants to talk about Justin Gaethje. ‘Let’s talk now. Let’s talk.'”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.