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With the start of the formation of the lightweight division, it looks like Justin Gaethje has remained out of sight. Since Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement, several key matches have been booked up to 155 pounds. Michael Chandler is set to fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant title, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor are predicted to complete their trilogy, and Tony Ferguson will face Beneil Dariush.
“The Highlight” survives a second round defeat following the defeat of lightweight champion Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in October, but remains at the top of the division’s rankings.
In a recent interview with Raptors MMA, Gaethje expressed his disappointment, expressing disappointment with his current situation in the UFC.
“Who knows, man,” Gaethje said. “I can’t talk about it a lot right now. I’m sure me talking about it is the reason I’m here in the past. Who knows? Maybe I p*ssed someone off, I don’t know. All I know is since I was 12, 13 years old, I listened to Dana White do his interviews and explain what he wanted in a fighter, and I’m that motherf*cker.
“If I get disrespected, it’s gonna be hurtful because I really bought in to what that man talked about. So yeah, it’ll hurt because I feel like I’m a company man from Day 1. I don’t ever wanna go anywhere else, I don’t ever want to fight anywhere else. But my principles are the most important thing to me, so we’ll see what happens.”
Before his defeat to Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) scored four early losses, including a win over Tony Ferguson to win the interim lightweight title at UFC 249. Justin delighted fans with his exciting style … and received nine post-fight bonuses in eight appearances in the octagon. Gaethje recently revealed that he was in talks for a fight with Chandler, but the UFC ultimately opted for Chandler’s vs. Oliveira match for the vacant 155-pound belt, leaving him with a few options for his next fight.
