SYDNEY – Justin Gaethje would love to put an end to Conor McGregor.

Gaethje, the “BMF” champion and top contender in the UFC’s lightweight division, is tired of having McGregor be ever-looming in the division and would want nothing else than to send the Irish superstar into retirement, but he knows that opportunity likely won’t present itself.

“I’d be lying if I’d say I haven’t dreamt of ending his career and making sure he’s never able to step back in there,” Gaethje said at Friday’s UFC 293 fan Q&A ahead of the ceremonial weigh-ins in Sydney. “Chandler will now be the second guy that I beat that he chose to fight, and I think that speaks for itself. He won’t fight me. Plain and simple.”

Gaethje is coming off a head-kick KO win over Dustin Poirier this past July at UFC 291. He’s now on a two-fight winning streak since losing to Charles Oliveira in a title fight in May 2022.

For now, Gaethje will wait and see what happens when Islam Makhachev defends his belt at UFC 294 against Oliveira, but he’s hoping to get the winner of that bout – even if it means surpassing Alexander Volkanovski who’s been wanting to get a rematch against Makhachev.

“I think Volkanovski had his chance and I think if I didn’t finish Dustin the way I did, then he’d have a better argument because he gave Makhachev such a good fight,” Gaethje said. “But the fact that I knocked out Dustin Poirier, the No. 2 guy in the world, got the BMF title, there’s no doubt I’m next in line for the fight.”