Justin Gaethje has a message for Al Iaquinta and Kevin Lee

Originally, former World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje was expected to battle Al Iaquinta in the UFC Lincoln main event. When Iaquinta withdrew from this fight, however, Gaethje was paired with James Vick.

In the end, Gaethje knocked Vick out in the very first round. In doing so, he set himself up for more big fights in the UFC lightweight division — like one with former interim title challenger Kevin Lee.

Unfortunately for Justin Gaethje, there’s recently been some buzz surrounding a potential fight between Lee and Iaquinta — the man he was originally supposed to fight. As you can probably understand, he’s not to pleased about this possibility.

Speaking on Twitter late on Monday night, Gaethje directed a message to both Lee and Iaquinta.

I better fight @MoTownPhenom or @ALIAQUINTA before they even think about fighting each other. Al backed out and Kevin is next. 💪👊

— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje) August 28, 2018

“I better fight [Kevin Lee] or [Al Iaquinta] before they even think about fighting each other,” he said. “Al backed out and Kevin is next.”

With his knockout win over James Vick, Justin Gaethje rebounded from back to back knockout losses at the hands of former champion Eddie Alvarez and top contender Dustin Poirier. These losses were preceded by a thrilling TKO defeat of Michael Johnson in his UFC debut. Gaethje is now a strong 19-2 overall.

Kevin Lee last fought in April, when he bludgeoned Edson Barboza to a fifth round stoppage. This loss served to separate him from an October submission loss to Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title fight. He’s 17-3 overall.

Iaquinta, finally, last fought in April, when he battled Khabib Nurmagomedov on just 24 hours notice, losing a unanimous decision. This loss marked the end of a five-fight win-streak for the New Yorker. He’s 13-4-1 overall.

Who do you want to see Justin Gaethje fight after his UFC Lincoln win over James Vick? Join the debate in the comments section below.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/28/2018.