Justin Gaethje drops bombshell about career timeline: “I’ll do that one more time, if I have to”
Justin Gaethje has shared an update on his fighting career, an indirect warning to fans to enjoy one of the most exciting fighters to grace the octagon while he still wants to entertain. 'The Highlight', as his moniker so aptly reads, has only gone to decision twice in his 13-fight UFC career.
The Arizona native brings the action whenever called upon, but his edge-of-your-seat fighting style comes at a cost, and Gaethje's matter of fact attitude has left him admitting he may only have one fight left in his career.
The 35-year old has been clear that at this stage of his career, as soon as he exits the lightweight title picture he will likely lay down his gloves for good.
Having suffered a brutal last-second knockout loss to Max Holloway in his previous clash, at UFC 300, the former BMF champion knows that another severe concussion could signal the end.
Gaethje was recently interviewed by MMAFighting, where he said:
"The direct quote was, 'Once I know I cannot win undisputed championship belt or fight for one, I might as well hang up the gloves.' I do not believe I have reached that point... If I ever go to sleep like I just went to sleep [against Holloway] I'm done. I'm not doing it three more, two more times. I'll do that one more time, if I have to. I'm not choosing that, but it's always a possibility."
Watch Justin Gaethje's interview below (7:35):
Justin Gaethje backs Max Holloway to topple Ilia Topuria at UFC 308
UFC 308 will be headlined by an epic featherweight title clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway in Abu Dhabi, set to take place on Oct. 26.
'Blessed' is fresh off the back of an all-time great performance against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, where he secured the BMF title via last-second knockout. It's unclear if the new BMF title holder will have his belt on the line against Topuria, but if so, Gaethje has backed Holloway to walk away with two belts once the fight ends.
'The Highlight' was asked to predict the clash during his aforementioned interview, and said:
"I really hope Max wins. Ilia was so impressive versus Volkanovski, his patience. He fought an amazing fight... I expected something different than I saw from Max, I was very impressed. In my mind, I can't see him losing. But that's just because I just got put to sleep by him." [5:08-5:34 in the aforementioned interview]