Justin Gaethje shows class in reaction to Conor McGregor's "handicapped" joke

Conor McGregor's recent tweet-and-delete spree involved him taking an ableist dig at Justin Gaethje. This isn't the first time that 'The Notorious' has taken a swipe at 'The Highlight', as McGregor once berated the American fighter for losing to Charles Oliveira.

McGregor called Gaethje a 'jacka**' and 'bird brain' when the Arizona native was beaten by Oliveira at UFC 274. In his latest jibes at Justin Gaethje, Conor McGregor said that Gaethje is 'handicapped'.

Here's what Justin Gaethje said in response during an interview with TMZ Sports:

"I don't have a reaction to that. You know, one of my best approaches to life is to make everybody think you're stupid, and go into a conversation or situation - and take advantage of [them] feeling like that. So, I think, you know, it plays perfectly into my hands. I love when people think that I'm handicapped or dumb, you know?"

Skip to 7:54 for Justin Gaethje's reaction to Conor McGregor's jibe:

'The Notorious' posted his tweet in reaction to a video of Justin Gaethje on The Ultimate Fighter 26, which has been doing the rounds on social media.

Check out the now-deleted tweet below:

Conor McGregor's tweet of him calling Justin Gaethje 'handicapped' [Image courtesy: @TheNotoriousMMA (Twitter)]

Despite their differences, as well as the fan-friendly scrap they'd likely bring to the octagon, Gaethje feels like he's never going to end up fighting Conor McGregor:

"I do not believe that I'll ever fight him. I just wanted to shut his mouth, you know? That was the only reason I wanted to fight him. Yeah, [money] is a factor, 100%, but I think that after I beat Cowboy [Cerrone], he [fought] Cowboy. I beat [Michael] Chandler, he's fighting Chandler. You know, I think [that], obviously fans understand that - you know, they understand that he won't fight me, plain and simple."

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"I think Dustin's the obvious choice" - Justin Gaethje on wanting to rematch Dustin Poirier

In the same interview, 'The Highlight' spoke about who he wants to fight next. After discussing his win over Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event of UFC 286, 'The Highlight' expressed an interest in rematching Dustin Poirier.

Here's what Gaethje said:

"You know, the obvious choice [would be] Dustin. He's sitting at No.2 right now. You know, I gave the new guys a chance and I proved that I'm elite. And I need to fight elite fighters for a belt. I think Dustin's the obvious choice, the loser of Dariush [versus] Oliveira is also a good option. But outside of those two, I do not see an option."

Poirier and Gaethje met at UFC on FOX 29, where both fighters duked it out before 'The Diamond' found the TKO finish in the fourth round.

Since losing to Dustin Poirier, Gaethje has amassed a 6-2 promotional record. His only career losses came at the hands of elite fighters like 'The Diamond', Eddie Alvarez, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira.