Perennial UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje has been a UFC mainstay for almost a decade, putting on some of the most exciting fights in promotional history.
Aptly nicknamed ‘The Highlight,’ Gaethje has competed 13 times in the UFC and received 13 performance bonuses totaling $650,000. He competes again at UFC 313, facing short-notice opponent Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event. Gaethje was initially scheduled to face Dan Hooker, who withdrew with a hand injury.
Before Gaethje fights for his position in the lightweight elite, familiarize yourself with ‘The Highlight’ using this guide.
Justin Gaethje’s height, age, weight, and reach
Gaethje was born on November 14, 1988, which makes him 36 at the time of writing (28/02/2025). He is listed at 5’11” (181cm), with a reach of 70″ (178cm). ‘The Highlight’ competes in the UFC’s lightweight division, and last weighed 156 lbs for his fight with Max Holloway at UFC 300.
Justin Gaethje’s tattoos
Gaethje has four prominent tattoos:
- Back Tattoo: Gaethje has his surname in all-capitals printed across his upper back.
- Right shoulder: Gaethje has a cross on his right shoulder, symbolizing faith.
- Right torso: Gaethje has a print of a gladiator with wings fighting a devilish figure, with text reading “Before Dishonor. ” Typically, this image would read ‘Death Before Dishonor.’ Plenty of fighters in the UFC, including Leon Edwards and Mario Bautista, have the same message in their body art.
- Left torso: Gaethje has the ‘Bad Boy‘ logo on his left rib cage. Bad Boy is a machismo sports brand founded in 1981 with strong ties to MMA.
Justin Gaethje’s record
Gaethje is 25-5 in MMA, and 8-5 in the UFC. He has 19 career wins by knockout, and two by submission. Gaethje has never lost a decision, and has only had three fight cancellations in the UFC, none of which were Gaethje’s fault.
| Method of victory | Amount |
| KO/TKO | 19 |
| Submission | 2 |
| Decision | 4 |
Justin Gaethje’s losses
Gaethje was undefeated at 16-0 before joining the UFC in 2017. In his UFC debut, Gaethje defeated Michael Johnson. He was immediately thrown to the wolves, dropping back-to-back knockout losses to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier.
The Arizonan slugger made immediate adjustments and rebounded with a four-fight winning streak, including an emphatic knockout over Edson Barboza. This streak culminated in an interim lightweight title victory against Tony Ferguson in 2020. He’d lose his first undisputed title fight in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement bout at UFC 254.
Gaethje defeated Michael Chandler in his next fight, before losing his second title shot against Charles Oliveira in one of the best one-round fights at UFC 274.
Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje
Following his defeat to Oliveira, Gaethje won a close decision against Rafael Fiziev, before avenging his defeat to Poirier by knocking him out with a head kick at UFC 291 to win the BMF title. Despite being next in line to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title, Gaethje put his BMF belt on the line against Max Holloway at UFC 300.
Here, Gaethje was thoroughly outclassed. Holloway busted his nose with a spinning back kick in the first round, and battered Gaethje over five rounds. In one of the greatest highlights of all time, Holloway knocked out Gaethje with an overhand right in the final second of their five-round fight.
Justin Gaethje’s stats
| Significant Strikes Landed per Minute | 6.78 |
| Significant Striking Accuracy | 59% |
| Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute | 7.46 |
| Significant Strike Defense (the % of opponents strikes that did not land) | 52% |
| Average Takedowns Landed per 15 minutes | 0.11 |
| Takedown Accuracy | 25% |
| Takedown Defense (the % of opponents’ TD attempts that did not land) | 75% |
| Average Submissions Attempted per 15 minutes | 0.0 |
Justin Gaethje’s next fight
Gaethje fights Rafael Fiziev in a short-notice lightweight rematch at UFC 313.