Conor McGregor's fight with Donald Cerrone has been branded "a freak show" by UFC star Justin Gaethje.
The Notorious faces Cerrone in his Octagon return on January 18 in what will be his first fight since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October, 2018.
McGregor plans to use the fight as a springboard for another shot at Nurmagomedov, reports The Mirror.
But the decision to fight Cerrone at 170lb has caused confusion and Gaethje, who was also in contention to face McGregor, has hit out.
"I mean, it’s a freak show man, I don’t know what to make of it," he told SiriusXM.
"For me, I think it’s good, it takes [McGregor] out of the picture. It kind of clears the path to what needs to happen.
"Fighting at 170… I don’t know how in his mind he can say, 'I’ll fight in 170 and then fight for the world title next.'
"I’d like to think it is because he doesn't want to fight me, but I don’t think I'm that scary. I don't understand it.
"If he wants to fight for a world title, he has to get another win in the lightweight division
"I’m sure he knows that he’s gonna put pressure on Dana [White] and the UFC to give him a title fight after… if... he beats Cowboy at 170. Or maybe he’ll fight someone else at 170, I’m not sure what he’s doing."
McGregor announced he would be returning to the octagon during a press conference in Russia in October and Cerrone quickly emerged as the frontrunner to face him.
They will clash at UFC 246 which will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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