Justin Gaethje asked Daniel Cormier if he was ‘crazy’, after the former heavyweight world champion called him in the early hours of the morning.
While MMA enthusiasts around the world were buzzing at the prospect of watching ‘The Human Highlight Reel’ battle it out with Dan Hooker, alas, on this occasion, it wasn’t meant to be.
Unfortunately, the New Zealander has pulled out with a hand injury. And while Gaethje has claimed he would’ve fought had he suffered the same injury as Hooker, at least for now, the fight is dead in the water.
With that in mind, the American is on the hunt for a new opponent.
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Daniel Cormier wants Justin Gaethje to fight Renato Moicano
With UFC 313 right around the corner, Justin Gaethje could’ve been forgiven for not competing on the card after his opponent withdrew.
However, in his mind, the mere suggestion of that was nothing short of insane, as Daniel Cormier found out during an interesting phone call.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, ‘DC’ revealed: “At six in the morning, I called JG, because I want to know what’s happening. There are people who are already stepping up and saying, ‘I want the fight’.
“Moving forward, Justin Gaethje is still fighting. I called him this morning, and my immediate question was, ‘Do you have any plans to not fight this weekend’? He goes, ‘Are you f***ing crazy’? That’s Justin Gaethje.
“He goes, ‘Of course I’m fighting’. I say, ‘What’s up JG, what are you doing’? He says, ‘I’m sleeping; it’s 7:30 in the morning here’.
“So, I asked JG, ‘Who do you want’? He goes, ‘I don’t care; I’ll fight any of those guys’. For me, ‘I want you vs Renato Moicano‘. I get it, Moicano just lost to Islam Makhachev in the way that he did. There’s no knocking him for that.
“JG is coming off a loss, too; he got beat by Max Holloway. Why not match these two up? We know that ‘Money’ Moicano is always there to fight, we know that he’s willing to stand and trade with the best of them, we know that he possesses submission ability, and we know that he’s going to bring the show.”
Michael Chandler addresses links to late-notice Justin Gaethje rematch
While Cormier would love to see Gaethje and Moicano trade leather in a brutal war of attrition, the Brazilian isn’t the only option.
Many are campaigning for Michael Chandler to step up to the plate, in what would be a mega rematch.
The pair first battled it out at UFC 268, with ‘Iron’ falling short following three rounds of utter chaos.
Now, Chandler has addressed whether Gaethje and he will run it back.