Who needs a goddamn welterweight when we can sign the baddest lightweight this sport has ever seen?

You reckon he’s sniffing around Mayweather-style luxury condos while we’re still here begging Dana to do his bloody job?

Oi lads, thinkin’ — if we sign the badman we don’t need no bloody 170 lb welterweight gimmicks, 😱 we just pummel em all at lightweight where he’s king 💪🔥 just like Rory before, our boys cut through anyone in that division

NickFaithful’s hush-hush rumour isn’t total fantasy, but let’s keep a cold pint on it, shall we? At 32 Gaethje isn’t rolling in the prime-years sushi belt where UFC still banks everything. Sure, elite lights stay competitive into the mid-thirties (McGregor’s proof), but the cost-to-win curve spikes hard when you’re buying ring time from a fighter who’s already banked two or three mega-contracts and keeps turning down the same purse he once snapped up. If he really is knocking on Dana’s doorstep, expect a short-term, low-risk, high-upside one-punchers’ deal rather than a five-fight blockbuster. Age aside, position is the real kicker. Gaethje’s always owned lightweight because the landscape at 155 fits his style—strikers chasing belts, not three-guard killers stepping up from 170. Sign him at LHW and you’re immediately stepping over Jorge Masvidal, a top-three finisher with nothing to prove and twelve years of kill-or-be-killed left in his gloves. The guy who beat Jorge? Oh right, Burns, and even he’s yet to taste that salad again. Bring Rory back at 155 though? Now we’re talking cold numbers. MacDonald’s 24-5-1 with six stoppages since 2018; eleven of those finishes came inside the first round. That’s a welterweight signing for the price of two low-risk lightweights. You only need to look at Covington’s last card: three finishes, 3.7 significant strikes landed per minute, 68% fight-ending accuracy. Plug Rory into a division he’s already ruled and the welterweight talks fade like a post-fight ice bath. But hey, one big name at 155 solves all that noise without ever setting foot in the cage under the welterweight banner.

Ever heard the phrase "penny-wise, pound-foolish" lads? That’s the exact picture UnderdogDenier’s painting here—like we’re supposed to believe Rory at 155 is some kind of magic wand that fixes all our problems while Gaethje, who’s still out there making millions doing what he does best, is just waiting around for Dana to toss him a wet paper bag. Honestly? Absolute drivel. First off, UnderdogDenier’s obsession with Rory’s record conveniently ignores the fact that MacDonald hasn’t stepped into the cage since November 2022—and let’s be real, half those stops were against guys who couldn’t cut it in welterweight to begin with. Gaethje’s last two fights? One loss to Oliveira in a lightweight title fight and one win over Ponzinibbio where he was down early, cut bad, and still gassed a man who’d been fighting at welterweight for years. That’s not the resume of a fighter who’s "aging out" so much as one who’s still elite but needs the right matchup—not just a free agency fire sale. And let’s talk about "position is the real kicker," shall we? Because if we’re suddenly worried about stepping over Masvidal at 205, that’s a problem we created by ignoring the fact that Gaethje is the *only* lightweight who’s still main-eventing cards without needing a 'super fight' tag. He’s the draw, lads—he sells the house regardless of the opponent because the crowd knows they’re getting bloodshed. Rory? Last time he headlined a PPV he got finished in the first round by Covington. Tell me again how he’s the ticket? NickFaithful’s rumour isn’t fantasy—it’s *hope*, and hope isn’t a strategy. If Gaethje wanted to drop to 170, he’d have done it by now. The man’s made his bed at lightweight, and until he retires or gets finished properly, that’s where the money and the glory are. Bring Rory back? Sure, fun side project. But act like he’s some kind of saviour that makes Gaethje obsolete? Mate, you’ve lost the plot. Gaethje at 155 is a title reign with pay-per-view records. Gaethje at 170 is a feel-good story where we all pat ourselves on the back for "sticking to our roots." Which one sounds like *winning*?

that whisper of hope gaethje might actually slide those gloves down to 170 is the only real drama this whole forum’s had since the chad locked horns with oliveira and we all pretended it wasn’t heartbreak on fast forward. i don’t care if UnderdogDenier’s chucking ice cubes on it—BackOurBoys_TillIDie’s the one sounding like he’s just woke up from a nap that started back in the tampa days.

Aye, but did you see that last presser where Justin went on about how "I love the 155 lb game" for like the eighth time? Dude’s practically pleading with Dana like a lass begging for a night out while her boyfriend just wants another pint. If he really wanted 170, he’d have strapped those gloves on ages ago—remember when he called the welterweight division a "different animal"? That wasn’t some throwaway line, lads, that was a man who’s already tested the water and spat it out like a shot of bad whisky. Gaethje at lightweight is the headliner that fills arenas; Gaethje at 170 is a novelty act where we all pretend to be surprised he can still throw a right hand. So let’s stop pretending Rory’s some golden ticket and admit what we all know—we’d rather watch our man run roughshod over the lightweight division than watch him limp through a welterweight slaughterhouse while Masvidal cackles from ringside. 😏🔥

remember back when the whole forum was chattering about aldo coming back at 155 and us all getting shirty with dana over a phonecall we swore we heard late one night? or when mcgregor’s supposed move to bjj lightweight had the lad’s buying custom gis and cancelling their gym memberships for a year? seen worse, lads—every whisper gets the blood pumping, every rumour ends with us nursing a pint and watching it fade into next week’s feed. time will tell, but right now gaethje’s still throwing hands at 155 and the welterweight whispers are just another tale to spin around the bonfire after the card’s done ah well, we'll see