Outside Source
Former interim lightweight champion Gaethje has amassed a litany of post-fight bonuses in his storied UFC tenure thus far, accounting for 14 additional checks across his 14 appearances. He also claimed the symbolic “BMF” title in 2023, wrecking Dustin Poirier in their rematch to claim the silver belt. He has not, however, achieved his goal of an undisputed championship. Given current 155-pound king Ilia Topuria’s struggles outside the cage, there is the potential for Gaethje’s next collision—against Paddy Pimblett for the interim crown—to have even greater stakes.
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Gaethje vs. Pimblett will headline the promotion’s first event, UFC 324, on the Paramount+ service to kick off the seven-year deal the UFC made with Paramount. The 37-year-old has hinted at retiring in the past, suggesting that he does not have many fights left in him. On Friday, Gaethje’s coach, Trevor Wittman, added to that message when speaking with ESPN.
“This is our last run,” Wittman remarked to ESPN. “If we don’t win this fight, we’re not going on…we’re not going to go out there and be a gatekeeper and look at money fights and s–t like that. He’s a goal setter, and his mentality…we’re in his house, and his family’s having a dinner, and I have that ‘true talk’ and I’m talking to his family and I’m not talking to him. The way he ends it, he’s like, ‘it’s not over, coach.’”
Wittman continued, “That’s the key to Justin. He’s very unique. He would fight over and over and over, but he knows he’s got to be there for the family, he’s got to be smart and take care of his health. But, we win this belt, my shoot-to-the-moon type of goal would be, let’s go out there and repeat defenses. Repeat defenses.
“Obviously, this is an interim title fight, so we’re not the champ yet. So, we’d have to go win that belt next. I always say the key to being a champion is one round at a time. One round at a time gets you one fight a time, once you get to one fight a time, then you start to get to the championship level. So, we’re not overlooking this, but we’re honest that this gets us to a point [where] we have that roadblock. We can’t overcome those roadblocks no more, he’s 37 years old and we want to be smart. We’re not going to be the guy out there trying to fight for money and trying to go chase cash for trauma.”
“This is not a Retirement Fight”
Gaethje rebounded from a sensational, award-winning battle with Max Holloway on UFC 300 in 2024 by outhustling Rafael Fiziev for a second time in March 2025. “The Highlight” is no stranger to lengthy layoffs, as he has been out of action since that bout, with about 10 months spanning Gaethje-Fiziev to the upcoming Pimblett tilt. Coach Wittman noted that while it might be Gaethje’s final path to UFC gold, this is not the kind of occasion where Gaethje is checked out and ready to leave the sport behind.
“This is not a retirement fight,” the vaunted coach stated. “When it comes to retirement fights, [scoffs], I think anybody who’s going out on a retirement fight is going to win one out of 10 times. You’re already letting go. He’s not letting go. He was just in his position where we were…we had just knocked out Poirier, we had a title fight. They offered the fight with Max, he didn’t want it. Pretty much everybody around us, including myself, was like, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity for you to go out there and do your thing from the upper echelon.’”
Throughout his 14 walks to the Octagon, “The Highlight” has served as an event headliner in nine of those—and UFC 325 will make it 10 of 15 come Jan. 24. The bonus magnet may trail all-time leader Charles Oliveira’s 21, but one more would put him in a four-way tie in the No. 4 spot with Jim Miller, Joe Lauzon and Poirier. Only Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone and Charles Oliveira have earned more. For Gaethje, this was always his plan, to become the most exciting fighter where fans circle his bout date on their calendars.
Wittman proudly said, “He’s a people fighter. His goal when he first got with me was like…, ‘Every time I fight, when you buy a pay-per-view or you buy a ticket to be in the arena, you’re going to be so grateful that you bought that ticket.’ And he’s done that.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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