Justin Gaethje is gearing up for what he hopes will be a winning third attempt at claiming the UFC lightweight title.
After suffering a harsh knockout loss to Max Holloway last April, Gaethje, known as “The Highlight,” bounced back by securing a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fiziev. This fight took place during the UFC 313 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Notably, this marked Gaethje’s second win against Fiziev, who stepped up on short notice when Dan Hooker had to opt out due to a broken hand.
Gaethje has long been a crowd-pleaser and a staple in thrilling UFC action, so there’s no shortage of opportunities for his next match. Speaking at the post-fight press conference over the weekend, Gaethje didn’t shy away from expressing his aspirations.
“I want to fight for the belt, obviously,” Gaethje stated. “That’s a whole different beast compared to my last fight. They tried to hand me an easy path, and while I took it, now it’s back to the grind if I’m going to face [Islam] Makhachev.”
With three wins in his last four UFC appearances, Gaethje might just have the edge, as Makhachev has yet to meet him at 155 pounds. Previously a champion in the World Series of Fighting, Gaethje has already contended for the lightweight title twice, falling to Khabib Nurmagomedov via second-round submission at UFC 254 in October 2020 and then to Charles Oliveira via a first-round submission at UFC 274 in May 2022.
It’s uncertain whether his recent win over Fiziev positions Gaethje as the top contender, but he’s certainly ruled out one alternative: a third bout with Dustin Poirier. In their initial encounter at UFC on Fox 29, Gaethje suffered a fourth-round TKO loss to “The Diamond.” However, he evened the score with a head-kick knockout victory to grab the BMF title at UFC 291.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—I don’t think either of our families needs to go through that,” Gaethje shared. “We’re each sitting at one win apiece. I’m good with it staying that way, and if he is too, then no, there’s no need for a third. We’re contenders, but we should face other competitors. Defeating each other again doesn’t really make either of us more of a contender.”
