What belt is Justin Gaethje in BJJ? All about 'The Highlight's' rank
Justin Gaethje has never been known as an MMA fighter with great grappling skills but has rarely seen that play against him in his career.
In the four losses Gaethje has suffered — all in the UFC — two have come by submission against arguably the two greatest grapplers in MMA history. Gaethje was submitted in both of his undisputed championship fights, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira.
'The Highlight' earned his nickname as a stellar striker with undeniable knockout power but began his MMA career after four years as a wrestler for the University of Nothern Colorado, including two seasons as an All-American. Gaethje sparingly uses his wrestling in MMA, preferring to get the job done with his hands, but still frequently hones his skills.
Despite his wrestling background, Gaethje is one of just a handful of high-level fighters who rarely even work on his grappling skills. He is technically a Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt and has never sustained training in art. The lightweight can be seen on his social media, where he is working on his grappling skills, but he prefers to train in defensive wrestling to keep fights on his feet.
Since the end of his collegiate wrestling career, Gaethje has worked with the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado, a camp known for utilizing several different gyms owned by its coaches. Gaethje trains with premiere striking coach Trevor Wittman and wrestling-heavy teammates Kamaru Usman, Mohammed Usman, Archie Colgan, and Bassil Hafez.
Justin Gaethje will face Max Holloway in the co-main event of UFC 300
As the newly-crowned BMF champion of the UFC, Justin Gaethje will look to defend his novelty belt against former featherweight champion Max Holloway at UFC 300.
After knocking out Dustin Poirier to win the belt at UFC 291, most assumed 'The Highlight' would be the next challenger of Islam Makhachev's lightweight championship. However, Gaethje was instead booked to fight Holloway on April 13, leaving Makhachev without a viable opponent and likely to face Poirier in the summer.
Gaethje and Holloway will profile as a five-round co-main event of the pay-per-view card, preluding Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill in the main event. The BMF title fight will not be the only high-profile lightweight bout on the card, as former champion Charles Oliveira is scheduled to face top contender Arman Tsarukyan.
While Makhachev has named Poirier as his ideal opponent due to his desire to fight in June and the latter's current availability, the champion has said he would be open to facing a lightweight winner from UFC 300 should either of the four competing on April 13 put on an impressive performance and be willing to turn around quickly.