Justin Gaethje Says He Was Offered The Tony Ferguson Matchup, But Declined Due To Short Notice

Justin Gaethje: "They called me to fight Tony (Ferguson) on four weeks notice and I can't do that." pic.twitter.com/5QBhf4zZ5x

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) July 4, 2019

Justin Gaethje has revealed why he turned down a fight against Tony Ferguson stating that the four-week’ notice given to him wasn’t enough to prepare for someone like “El Cucuy” and wanted the bout to be pushed back to this Saturday at UFC 239.

It’s safe to say any fight featuring Gaethje is guaranteed to be a “Fight of the Night” contender but few would argue that matching him up with former interim lightweight champion Ferguson is likely to produce a “Fight of the Year” candidate, given both men’s styles.

UFC matchmakers offered Gaethje the chance to take on Ferguson but when the former World Series of Fighting champion declined the offer citing the short notice of the fight, the promotion instead gave the opportunity to UFC stalwart Donald Cerrone.

In a recent interview with Aaron Bronsteter, Gaethje opened up on the negotiations he had with UFC matchmakers regarding the fight with Ferguson and stated he’d happily fight him in the future for a No. 1 contender spot (H/T to LowKickMMA).

“They called me to fight Tony [but] it was four weeks’ notice,” Gaethje said. “I can’t do that. I can’t go in there compromised. It’s a huge opportunity to miss out on but I asked them if they could push it until Saturday [UFC 239] and they couldn’t do it. ‘Cowboy’ got the bid. I would love to fight Tony. I want to fight the Russian. I got to get through Tony, or through one of those guys.”