Justin Gaethje never looks afraid of taking punishment inside the octagon. However, being knocked out cold by Max Holloway at UFC 300 seems to have dented his confidence. After almost a year of recovery, Gaethje now faces Dan Hooker at UFC 313 and will hope to overcome these issues.
In a video posted on his Instagram profile, the ‘Highlight Reel’ asked people to enjoy the show as he prepares for his return to action.
“Ready for the next chapter. Episode 1 of my new series The Art Of Violence goes live tomorrow. I am excited to face the fears of coming back from a KO in front of you. Enjoy the show.”
Justin Gaethje on Instagram: “Ready for the next chapter. Episode 1 of my new series The Art Of Violence goes live tomorrow. I am excited to face the fears of coming back from a KO in front of you. Enjoy the show.” pic.twitter.com/K1z4sDdhb4
— MMAFanatic (@FanaticMma10) January 28, 2025
Gaethje was the BMF champion going into the fight against Holloway. He didn’t even need to take the fight since he was the next in line for a title shot. However, Gaethje has never been one to back out of a challenge. And so he took on Holloway.
However, on the night of the fight, he simply looked like a shadow of himself. Holloway was dominant throughout, despite a back-and-forth flow to the fight. The fight looked like it would go to Holloway in a decision win. However, the Hawaiian challenger asked Gaethje to move to the center of the octagon in the last 10 seconds for a final hurrah.
What followed was a series of wild swings. Unfortunately for Gaethje, Holloway connected a right hook in the last second of the fight and knocked him out cold to win the BMF title.
MAX HOLLOWAY HAS JUST PUT JUSTIN GAETHJE OUTCOLD
HOLY SHITTTT#UFC300 pic.twitter.com/i9aWXIYgvf
— bradley (@cactusbr4d) April 14, 2024
A knockout like that definitely takes a toll on a fighter’s confidence as they start to doubt the durability of their chin. This might be especially true for a fighter like Gaethje who is known for his ability to walk out of dogfights with a smile.
To make things worse, his opponent for UFC 313 has a grim outlook towards the fight.
Hooker promises blood for Gaethje fight
Dan Hooker has been riding the high of a 3-fight win streak since his split decision win over Mateusz Gamrot last August. Much like Gaethje, the #6th ranked lightweight fighter is also a sucker for bloodfests and believes that is the only reason the UFC is putting them together. Interestingly, the UFC has booked this fight for 5 rounds, instead of the usual 3, which Hooker believes is to give in to the fans’ bloodlust.
Dan Hooker on the Gaethje fight being 5 rounds:
“I think the UFC wants to see someone die… They wanna see someone go down. They wanna see blood. They wanna see rounds 4 and 5.” pic.twitter.com/BR7bm3y5bu
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 27, 2025
When asked if he was getting extra pay for the extended fight, Hooker made it clear,
“If you’re working overtime, you expect to get paid more.”
Interestingly, despite being in the top echelon of the 155 lbs division, this is the first time that these two fighters will be competing against each other.
