"He looks absolutely lost" - Ray Longo and Kenny Florian break down Justin Gaethje's jiu-jitsu at UFC 274
Ray Longo and Kenny Florian have weighed in on Justin Gaethje's recent performance against Charles Oliveira. Both pointed out his visible lack of Brazilian jiu-jitsu ability in the UFC 274 main event.
Appearing on the latest episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast, Ray Longo stated that he saw the same grappler in Gaethje that he saw in his earlier fights, with no improvements to his jiu-jitsu game.
"What I don't like about the fight, it looks to me, he made zero improvements in his jiu-jitsu. Every time he's down there in a bad position, he looks absolutely lost and that's on him. If that's the way he wants to go out, that's fine but he has no clue as to what he's doing down there."
Kenny Florian echoed Longo's thoughts, opining that 'The Highlight' counted on his wrestling and striking skills to try and come out on top. Here's what 'KenFlo' said:
"I think that's spot on. In my understanding, you know, before the Khabib fight, I don't think he spent a whole lot of time there and kind of figures, 'Hey, listen, I'm just going to work my wrestling. As far as off-time optimization, I'm going to work my wrestling and my striking, that's where I get it done. And if I get taken down, I'm probably screwed anyway.'"
Watch Ray Longo and Kenny Florian break down Justin Gaethje vs. Charles Oliveira below:
Heading into his second UFC lightweight title fight, Gaethje looked to right the wrong from his first attempt at capturing the 155-pound gold against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020.
'The Highlight' was submitted by the Dagestani in the second round via triangle choke. However, it only took one round for Oliveira to submit Gaethje this past weekend.
Conor McGregor goes off on Justin Gaethje after loss to Charles Oliveira
Conor McGregor slammed Justin Gaethje after 'The Highlight's submission defeat to Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. Taking to social media, the Irish star fired shots at the Safford native, labeling him a "Grade A jack*ss."
In a now deleted tweet, the Dubliner also took aim at Ali Abdelaziz, calling both Gaethe and his manager 'bird-brained'.
"Gaethje is a jack*ss. The amount of absolute dribble he speaks as well. Over and over. A Grade A jack*ss! A bird brain with a bird brain manager. Two bum tw*ts they are. He is. A Jack*ss. Stevo Ocrack head in recovery should see can Johnyy give him a part."
Gaethje and McGregor have had bad blood for several years now. In the lead-up to his championship bout at UFC 274, 'The Highlight' vowed to end the Irishman's career after capturing lightweight gold.
However, Gaethje's loss to Oliveira means that he will now have to go back to the drawing board and work his way back to the title.