‘Legendary Era Is Coming to an End’: Justin Gaethje Retiring? Fans Speculate After UFC Star’s Cryptic Comments

Justin Gaethje just claimed that he only had space for two more fight posters in his house. ‘The Highlight’ is 36 now, heading into his 31st professional MMA fight. So, what does this mean? Is he calling it a day? Is Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 in three days’ time his penultimate bout? Will he join Dustin Poirier in one final embrace of the octagon as the pair sails into the sunset together?

The way Gaethje fights, constantly putting pressure on the opponent and running into their punches, is not a very sustainable fighting style. So, it is only a matter of time before he decides to hang up his gloves.

This much was obvious, especially after Max Holloway nuked him in a 5-round beatdown at UFC 300. But to hear him actually hint at it hits harder than… well, Gaethje himself.

Gaethje was a part of the golden generation of 155-pounders who made the lightweight division the more viewed of the entire UFC roster. Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin, Charles Oliveira- all of them put on a show each time they fought in the octagon, against each other or otherwise.

So, not having ‘The Highlight’ on the UFC roster is causing a massive crashout among the fans.

Although this may just have been an issue of him running out of space in his house, fans are already out there buying caserols in a state of mourning. “A legendary era is coming to an end. Tony Dustin Justin…” , one fan said, reminding everyone that the hardcore era was coming to a end.

One user saw the logic in what ‘The Highlight’ was saying and gave fans a brutal reality check: “He’s also 36 years old. I wouldn’t be surprised if he retired after this fight.”

This man just got super emotional as it dawned upon him that all athletes have a shelf life. He said, “All of our favorite fighters are leaving soon” 

One quick-witted fan came up with a hilarious solution to the problem, saying. “He can keep extras at my house!”

“It’s gonna be a painful day if you ask me”, added another as the fear of losing someone as special as Gaethje gradually sets in.

After the career he’s had, ‘The Highlight‘ has every right to ride into retirement anytime he wants. But as sad as this is, do note that these are just fans getting sad over speculations. Gaethje, on the other hand, seems focused on Fiziev and not making the same mistakes he did at UFC 300 last year.

What Gaethje learnt from Holloway KO loss

Although most would only remember the last-second knockout, Gaethje was thoroughly dominated throughout the course of the fight. While it hurt, Gaethje claims he knows his style of living by the sword also means dying by it.

So much so that since then, he has also stated that if he ever gets knocked out in that manner again, he will hang up his gloves. However, in an interview, he asserted that one cannot dwell on history so much.

Much like Talia Al-Ghul making that jump to escape the prison in The Dark Knight Returns, Gaethje understands the role of fear as a motivation.

“Sometimes you try to keep it out of your mind or not think about how dangerous this is, coz that’s the scary part And so It has to be very relevant in order for you to go to a special place in the fight night.”, he says.

However, it’s not all bleak and Gotham-ish for the American, as a win may just convince Gaethje that he needs to stick around for longer. While this win may not put him directly in Islam Makhachev’s path, it could certainly push him in the direction of UFC gold.