Gregor Gillespie’s days of not calling out fighters are over, and he already knows who he’d call for next should he get past Kevin Lee at Saturday’s UFC 244.
Gregor Gillespie has had a very impressive UFC stint thus far, extending his career record to 13-0 with six UFC victories under his belt. After each victory, Gregor would refrain from calling his next shot, taking the humble approach and being willing to fight anyone the promotion put in front of him. Gregor Gillespie now has a name he is prepared to throw out there for if he defeats Kevin Lee at UFC 244, and he will not be aiming low:
“I think in this sport, in this period in time, I have to be a little more short-sighted,” Gillespie told MMA Junkie. “I’ve got a big job to do on Saturday night. I don’t want to look past that. If I can’t beat Kevin Lee, then I’m not going to be fighting Khabib. I’m trying to focus on that at this point in time.
“I think sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. The strikers haven’t been able to get it done with Khabib, so … I’d call for that. For sure. That’s a fight that’s super exciting for me. I always like to challenge myself. Again, I’ve got to get past Kevin on Saturday night. That’s the big test. But yeah, let’s say all goes well on Saturday night – that’s a fight that I’ll call for.”
Gregor Gillespie is currently ranked #11 in the lightweight division, with Kevin Lee, his opponent this Saturday, positioned one spot above him at #10. Gillespie’s odds of getting a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov next may be low, but Gillespie could potentially have been in a much better position to get that fight had he been more active and thus earned a higher ranking. Gillespie concedes that the UFC has done its part in helping build him up the right way, so any stalls or delays in his career progression rests on him:
“I’ve been super fortunate,” Gillespie said. “The UFC has been absolutely amazing with my career and my trajectory. The path they’ve put me on is absolutely amazing … Any time that I’ve wanted to fight, they’ve gotten me in there. That’s not on the UFC, that’s on me.”
Do you believe Gregor Gillespie should call out Khabib Nurmagomedov if he defeats Kevin Lee at UFC 244?
