Outside Source
Justin Gaethje understands every single time he fights in the UFC octagon, he’s going to be a changed man afterward.
That’s why the reigning “BMF” champion highly doubts he’ll be able to fight Max Holloway at UFC 300, then compete as early as June for a potential lightweight title shot. Rumors have swirled for weeks that lightweight king Islam Makhachev may return in early summer, but Gaethje effectively ruled himself out of the running, no matter how his fight plays out on Saturday night.
“I don’t play what ifs,” Gaethje said during UFC 300 media day. “But you don’t pass up a championship opportunity. I do want my time. I do think June would probably be impossible for me, as every time I fight is a traumatic life experience.
“I need to go home, unwind, take care of my body, take care of my head, but I have coaches and a manager that ultimately make those decisions. So if they say go, I go.”
Many of Gaethje’s past opponents have compared fighting him to the experience going through a car crash. Even if you beat him, you’re not walking away unscathed.
He holds himself to that same standard, which is why he tries not to think past his upcoming fight, much less what could happen in June.
“I’m a quarter-mile at a time kind of guy,” Gaethje said. “I do not look too far ahead. I honestly have no clue what the future holds. I don’t usually plan on being alive the day after my fights. So hopefully, I’m there on Sunday.”
Gaethje definitely has a fight on his hands as he clashes with Holloway, who’s never been put down or finished by strikes in his career. Even in a five-round fight with Dustin Poirier back in 2019, Holloway dueled with the noted knockout artist for 25 minutes and never backed down from any exchange.
Of course, Gaethje hopes to test Holloway’s chin at UFC 300, and he acknowledges how much it would mean to put the Hawaiian down.
“It would mean a lot,” Gaethje said. “I have 25 fights, 19 knockouts. I have really taken pride in that since the beginning of my career. To be the first one, I like being first. I’m ready.”
There are still some unknowns with this fight, especially after Holloway dedicated a lot more time preparing to fight at lightweight versus his past encounter with Poirier five years ago.
Holloway added size and muscle to his frame, but he’s said nothing would sacrifice his speed, which will undoubtedly become a major weapon against Gaethje.
Whatever gets thrown at him, Gaethje is ready to test the waters.
“I love getting in there and finding out,” he said. “I’ll know early if he’s punching hard enough for me to take chances or be more cautious. I’ll find that out early.
“I think this is very different from the time he fought Poirier as that was a late replacement. I think he’s had this whole camp, being able to keep and maintain that weight. I do think he’s going to be as big as me and as strong as me.”
If all goes well in Gaethje’s fight on Saturday, he knows a title shot will eventually happen for him. Nut he’s not getting lost in those details just yet. None of that matters if he doesn’t get through Holloway, so that has to remain his only priority.
“I know with a win here, I fight for the belt,” Gaethje said. “I know with a loss here, that all goes away. That’s what I’m fighting for.
“There’s going to be two contenders coming out of this fight night. This pay-per-view. The winner of [Arman] Tsarukyan-[Charles] Oliveira, there’s going to be a contender, and the winner of Holloway and myself is going to be a contender. I believe Makhachev is going to fight at least twice this year, and so I think we’ll both fight him.”
This article first appeared at MMA Fighting – All Posts
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