"He'll get those big paydays anyway" - UFC Hall of Famer dissects legitimacy of Justin Gaethje initially turning down Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor was quick on the scene after the BMF title was won by Justin Gaethje with an incredible head-kick finish in the main event of UFC 291.

McGregor called out the triumphant Gaethje on Twitter by claiming that he could knock out the No.2 ranked contender with 'one shot'. However, Gaethje refused to entertain the call-out and spoke dismissively of a matchup against 'The Notorious'.

Former UFC champion Michael Bisping weighed in on the situation on the Believe You Me podcast and sided with 'The Highlight' for prioritizing his chances of winning a title.

“Justin shut it down big time and I agree with it. You know, I think he said that Conor’s turned me down six times, now it feels nice to be the one doing the turning down. No, I don’t [think it’s a negotiation tactic]. I think that’s legitimate. Cause he spoke about it last year or earlier this year, he wants to be the champ and he wants to defend the belt a few times and then retire. And getting sidetracked with the fight with Conor McGregor, that allows the title conversation to continue elsewhere."

Michael Bisping also mentioned that potentially securing the lightweight title could land Justin Gaethje more big-money fights and maybe even a matchup against McGregor.

"If he wins or beats Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira, regardless who the champ is, then he’ll get those big paydays anyway. He might be able to fight Conor McGregor as champion or whoever it is and you’ll still get big paydays, which will be pretty nice, red panty nights everywhere. You want to focus on the legacy and let the money follow afterwards.”

Check out Bisping's full comments on YouTube [9:27]:

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Justin Gaethje challenges Conor McGregor to 'sign the contract'

Although Justin Gaethje initially refused to entertain Conor McGregor's call out, he then backtracked and dared the Irishman to sign a fight contract on Twitter.

Gaethje quote tweeted McGregor's tweet and wrote:

"Sign the contract big boy."

Check out his tweet below:

McGregor was expected to fight Michael Chandler following the finale of The Ultimate Fighter season 31 but there has been no official announcement for a fight date or venue. 'The Notorious' has an ongoing tiff with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding his clearance to compete after being out of the testing pool.