Returning to winning was over the weekend, Justin Gaethje has made a bold claim regarding his infamous knockout loss to Max Holloway last year. Co-headlining UFC 313, Gaethje managed to narrowly edge out Kazakh striker Rafael Fiziev in their second fight, taking home a unanimous decision win.
And with that victory to boot, Arizona veteran Gaethje returned to the winner’s enclosure for the first time since last April. On that occasion, i.e., the main event of UFC 300, Gaethje would be finished in spectacular fashion in his BMF title defense against Holloway.
Dropping a final second, buzzer-beating stoppage win, Holloway would finish the former interim lightweight champion and make a case for challenging for UFC gold himself. Gaethje, on the other hand, would have to take 6 months off the octagon.
However, in his pursuit of a title fight with the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, he had made a surprising admission.
According to him, his loss to Holloway should be more or less disregarded when it comes to his title merits. The perennial contender has claimed the pairing should be viewed as an “exhibition” fight more than anything else.
“I won 3 out of my last 4, only losing in an exhibition fight,” Justin Gaethje posted on X. “I have to fight for the belt. @danawhite I am ready.”, he added.
I won 3 out of my last 4, only losing in an exhibition fight. I have to fight for the belt. @danawhite I am ready.
— Justin Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje) March 11, 2025
Gaethje campaigns for lightweight title fight
The Highlight has beaten both Dustin Poirier and Fiziev in the last two years, beyond his loss to Holloway.
Retaining his place amongst the lightweight elite over the weekend, Gaethje has made it abundantly clear who he wants to stand opposite in his next Octagon walk.
Emerging as a fresh contender to the lightweight crown against the dominant Makhachev, Gaethje laid out his chances of actually beating the Russian over the weekend.
“I want to fight for the belt obviously, it’s a much different matchup than I just had,” Gaethje said after UFC 313.
“They tried to give me a donut, I took a bit but I gotta get back to running if I’m going to fight Makhachev,” he joked but with the realization that the task was cut out for him.
“I have to get my Jiu-Jitsu coach out here, really it’s just confidence. He’s a tough matchup for anyone. He’s so good, so strong. Going to have to have a perfect night if I want to beat him,” added Gaethje.
Having previously succumbed to Makhachev’s head coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Gaethje knows his work is cut out already.
Unmoved as a lightweight champion, Makhachev would likely close as a sizeable favorite over Gaethje. But the American would very likely be his toughest challenge till date.
