Justin Gaethje names two potential opponents for his next fight: "They both make just as much sense to me right now"
Justin Gaethje weighed in on his next potential opponent at the UFC 281 pre-fight media scrum. Gaethje was asked for his preference between surging contender Rafael Fiziev or former champion Charles Oliveira.
'The Highlight' claimed that both Oliveira and Fiziev are equally appealing to him as potential opponents. However, Gaethje doesn't want to get emotionally invested in a particular opponent by fixating on them. Hence, the former interim lightweight champion has entrusted his team to work out his next matchup.
The 34-year-old told reporters:
"They both make just as much sense to me right now. I need two wins, doesn't matter who. They are gonna be big fights. I don't wanna fight just anybody, obviously. Both of those guys are possible fights for my next fight. But again, my job is to stay out of my emotions. If I think about those fights, I get emotional. Because that's who we are as humans. I have to put the responsibility on the people that I trust, which is my coach, my manager."
Catch Justin Gaethje's comments below:
Justin Gaethje sees Rafael Fiziev or a Charles Oliveira rematch as "possible fights" next.
Full interview: bit.ly/3UV2YFN https://t.co/c7XD7p81gT
Oliveira recently lost his strap to Islam Makhachev at UFC 281, snapping an 11-fight unbeaten streak. Meanwhile, Fiziev is riding a six-fight winning streak, five of which were bonus-winning performances. 'Ataman' is coming off back-to-back knockout wins over Brad Riddell and Rafael dos Anjos.
Justin Gaethje reveals bicycle crash before his title fight against Charles Oliveira at UFC 274
Justin Gaethje was the only man entitled to win the lightweight title at UFC 274, after Charles Oliveira controversially missed weight by half a pound. Despite dropping Oliveira, 'The Highlight' eventually got submitted by 'do Bronx', all within the first round.
Gaethje recently revealed that he had a bicycle accident 18 days before his fight against Oliveira. Despite the mishap, he was so deep into his camp that he had no option but to pretend like nothing happened. At the same media scrum, he said:
"My dumbass, 18 days before I fought Charles, I was riding my bicycle to the gas station to get some nicotine patches, and I had a vicious crash on my bike. Smoked my head off the road, road rash all down my back, and then go in there and took that damage that I took in that fight. That’s why I’m taking so much time off."
He added:
"As soon as it happened I had to go home and act like it didn’t happen, act like my vision didn’t go 100 percent f***** up for two seconds. And that’s what we’ve been doing since we were kids. You put that doubt aside."
Catch Justin Gaethje's comments below: