Before his legendary run in the UFC, Justin Gaethje made a name for himself in World Series Of Fighting, now known as the PFL.
Since joining the UFC in 2017, Justin Gaethje has rapidly become a favorite amongst the fans because of his incredible fight style.
‘The Highlight’ came into the promotion with a reputation for being wild, so much so, that Gaethje was given a main event spot in his promotional debut, which turned out to be a crazy fight against Michael Johnson.
His round two KO win over Johnson kickstarted his incredible career in the UFC, which continues on March 8 at UFC 313 when Gaethje takes on Rafael Fiziev in a huge rematch.
READ MORE: Justin Gaethje issues epic response as clip of unaired aftermath of Max Holloway KO goes viral
Justin Gaethje knocked out one-armed fighter before legendary UFC run
Before being given his opportunity in the premier MMA promotion, ‘The Highlight’ made a name for himself in World Series Of Fighting, which is now better known as the PFL.
In 2014, Gaethje won the WSOF vacant lightweight title at WSOF 8, knocking out Richard Patishnok in the first round, maintaining his undefeated record.
For his first title defense, Gaethje defended his 155lb title against ‘Notorious’ Nick Newell, who was well known for having only one arm.
Heading into their fight, Newell was also undefeated, which is an incredible feat for a fighter who only had one arm.
Gaethje had to overcome early adversity in that fight as Newell caught him with several heavy shots which seemed to take their toll on ‘The Highlight’.
Despite that, Gaethje opened up a huge cut on the side of Newell’s head which marked the beginning of the end, and in round two, he landed the knockout blow with a huge right hand.
Justin Gaethje still hopeful of winning undisputed UFC gold
Now, Gaethje is one of the biggest stars in the UFC and is potentially one big win away from challenging the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
After another successful title defense this past January which saw Makhachev set a new UFC record, the Russian champion has admitted that he would like to fight Gaethje, despite a run that has seen him go 202 in his last four fights.
And with that, Gaethje believes that with a win against Fiziev at UFC 313, he could rise to the top of the title conversation and be next to challenge Makhachev for the title.