Justin Gaethje showcased once again at UFC 313 that he is still a dangerous contender at 155lbs.
After being brutally knocked out by Max Holloway at UFC 300 last April, fans wondered whether Justin Gaethje would return as the same fighter with his next outing.
‘The Highlight’ was left without an opponent momentarily for his scheduled comeback at UFC 313 when his original opponent, Dan Hooker withdrew due to a hand injury but fortunately, Rafael Fiziev stepped in on late notice.
With their first meeting back in 2023 being an all out war, their rematch on Saturday night delivered once again, as Gaethje picked up the unanimous decision after three incredible rounds.
Dana White comments on Justin Gaethje’s chances of fighting for the title
Now at 36 years old and with a lot of fight miles on the clock, it is unclear how much longer Gaethje will be fighting for.
Despite that, ahead of his fight at UFC 313, Gaethje stated that he wants the next title shot, and his win over ‘Attaman’ Fiziev likely puts him in a decent spot as he is still the number three ranked lightweight.
Current champion, Islam Makhachev has also previously named Gaethje as an opponent he’d like to face, with ‘The Highlight’ being a longtime lightweight contender.
Following the fight, the Arizonan once again stated his desire to fight for the undisputed title but admitted that he doesn’t particularly know what he wants next.
“I don’t know (what I want next), we’ll see. I mean, I wanna fight for the belt, obviously, it’s a much different matchup than I just had, they tried to give me a donut but I need to get back to running if I’m gonna fight Makhachev,” Gaethje said at the post fight press conference.
Fortunately for the former interim lightweight champion, his position as potential number one contender was seemingly backed by the UFC boss, Dana White, who commented on his chances of fighting for the title.
“I mean, what’s he ranked right now? Fourth or something, right? Third. There you go, he’s still the number three ranked guy in the world so the odds of him getting the title shot are pretty good,” White revealed.
Justin Gaethje reveals the one fight he is no longer interested in
With former UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria potentially next in line to take on Makhachev after recently teasing some big news, Gaethje may decide to take another fight.
He and Dustin Poirier have already shared the Octagon twice in two epic battles in UFC history, both scoring one win each and leaving a potential trilogy open.
With Poirier revealing that his next fight will be his retirement fight, he has stated that Gaethje is his dream final opponent.
Despite that, ‘The Highlight’ has admitted that he isn’t interested in that fight as he believes neither of their families deserve to go through the pain of the first two fights again.
“No, I’ve stated many times, I don’t think either one of our families deserve that, we’re 1-1, I’m okay with it if he’s okay with it, then no, I don’t think that’s (gonna happen),” he continued.