UFC: Gaethje wants to knock out McGregor in Ireland

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New York, April 7: Justin Gaethje said he wants to knock out Conor McGregor in Ireland and help the UFC star into retirement.

With McGregor set to return to the octagon, Gaethje wants to face the former two-division champion in his homeland.

"I want to fight him and I want to fight him in Ireland," Gaethje told TMZ Sports. "I know it's not going to happen in Ireland, but that's my dream is to go over there and just be in that, that sort of chaos.

"Like, that's what s*** wakes me up every day. So, I'll go out there. I'm going to stand. I'm going to stand and knock him out. If he wants to retire, I can help on his way out."

Gaethje, 20-2, is coming off a vicious knockout win over one of the best strikers in the UFC – Edson Barboza.

The former World Series of Fighting lightweight champion has 18 career finishes in his professional career and 24 if you count his amateur years.

Gaethje has five career fights in the UFC and four of them have been named Fight of the Night. He has won performance of the night for two of those victories.

McGregor has talked about wanting a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title, Tony Ferguson has actively been looking for a matchup with the man from Ireland and there are plenty of talented fighters in the lightweight division who could fight the former.

But a bout with Gaethje makes sense for the UFC even though it would be an incredibly dangerous reintroduction into the organisation for McGregor.

"This is the craziest weight class there is right now in the UFC. I think it's the one with the most opportunity to become a superstar," Gaethje said. "There are so many fights right now, but Conor sounds like he's coming back. I'm the man now. If he's going to fight somebody, it has to be me."