Justin Gaethje wants to get back to the fighting style that made him a UFC superstar.
‘The Highlight’ sensationally knocked out UFC bogeyman Edson Barboza and James Vick during a pulse-raising first run at lightweight gold.
In recent years, Justin Gaethje has tweaked his gung-ho fight style and picked up high-profile decision wins over Michael Chandler and Rafael Fiziev, who he will rematch at UFC 313 on Saturday night.
However, his slightly more defensive approach didn’t work at UFC 300 as he suffered a brutal faceplant knockout with one second left of his BMF title fight against Max Holloway last April.
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Justin Gaethje reflects on Max Holloway KO
Gaethje took almost a full year off to recover from what Joe Rogan believes is the greatest KO in UFC history.
During that time, the 36-year-old has come to the conclusion that he needs to be more aggressive when he fights, and focus less on the amount of punches he’s taking.
“I think this career is just crazy,” Gaethje said during an interview with TNT Sports.
“Every single fight you go in there, and you can’t retain information from the fight, but after the fight when you look in the hindsight [you can].
“I found success in the Chandler fight and the Fiziev fight by being more passive than I ever used to be. I used to be a very aggressive, forward fighter – but then I concentrated on not getting hit, not taking damage. At the end of the fight, their face was still jacked up and I was getting the win.
“I think I bought into that style a bit too much. Especially against a guy like Max Holloway, who is so fast and can cover range so well. It really bit me in the a— that night.
“It’s a give and take on how aggressive you need to be. To take a stance where you say, ‘I’m not gonna get hit’ is detrimental to the fighter I am. I think that was ultimately what happened. It was something I had to learn. I learned the hard way.
“If you watched me in World Series of Fighting, I think I have to tap into that guy a bit more.”
Justin Gaethje eyes title fight
Islam Makhachev quickly submitted Renato Moicano to defend the lightweight title on short notice at UFC 311 in January.
There’s currently no number one contender at 155lbs, so Gaethje could insert himself into the title conversation by bouncing back from losing to Holloway at UFC 313.
The American has expressed an interest in facing Makhachev after previously being choked out by his teammate, Khabib Nurmagomedov, at UFC 254 in October 2020.
“I go in there and get a finish with an outstanding performance like I always do, I think I’ll be one of the guys that they consider to fight,” Gaethje told Jim Rome.
Only time will tell who’ll get the next crack at Makhachev. Ilia Topuria is another option after he recently vacated his featherweight belt to pursue glory in a different division.