5 keys to victory for Justin Gaethje
UFC 274 will be Justin Gaethje's second chance at becoming the undisputed lightweight champion of the world. Now, he's the only half of the main event that can walk away as the champion due to a .5lb weight miss by Charles Oliveira.
Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje were fired up for their faceoff ahead of the dramatic #UFC274 main event. 👀 https://t.co/Yygmskq8op
Regardless of the controversy, 'The Highlight' has a dangerous opponent in front of him as he tries to secure championship gold in his native Arizona. His Brazilian counterpart has really come into his own with his striking abilities. But it's mostly Olivera's submission threat that will be on Gaethje's mind at every moment he's in the octagon.
The oncoming threats are plentiful, but Gaethje is very much a live underdog in this fight. He's got quite the toolset and incredible power to go with it. Furthermore, he may be the most violent fighter that the UFC has ever seen. Quite the challenge is ahead of Justin Gaethje, but he's very capable of scoring the homecoming victory.
Here are five keys to victory for Justin Gaethje:
#5. Find his range
Justin Gaethje will enter this bout with a four-inch reach disadvantage. His Brazilian adversary is very skilled at both fighting long and closing the distance to fight from the clinch.
JUSTIN GAETHJE TITLE FIGHT WEEK https://t.co/uMZuxw8ADJ
To gain an advantage, the 33-year-old challenger will look to force the fight into boxing range. His hands contain so much power, and he's one of a kind with his ability to throw damaging kicks from close range.
The path of least resistance here would be to engage at an in-between distance. Not at the end of Oliveira's punches, but not too close to be sucked into the clinch easily. Though Gaethje is a skilled wrestler, he'd be wise not to lean on that tool when taking on the fighter with the most submission victories in UFC history.