Justin Gaethje News

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

Islam Makhachev ripped Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler ahead of UFC 268, saying “everybody is tired about these guys because they’re old.” Makhachev put on arguably the best performance of his MMA career last Saturday at UFC 268 when he submitted Dan Hooker in the first round. Considering how tough and durable Hooker is — this was his first submission loss in nearly a decade — it was absolutely incredible to see Makhachev go through him like a knife through hot butter. It was the kind of win that the Russian needs in order to really cement himself as one of the top lightweights in the UFC. With a 10-1 record now in the promotion, including the nine-fight win streak that he currently rides, it’s clear that Makhachev is closing in on a title shot.

Cole Shelton - November 2, 2021

Justin Gaethje believes he will be fighting for UFC gold after UFC 268. On the main card of the UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden, Gaethje is set to fight Michael Chandler in a potential number one contender bout. It’s Gaethje’s first fight since he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov for the belt in October of 2020 but he is confident he will not only get the win but will KO Chandler to get the next title shot.

Adam D Martin - November 2, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler believes that his rival Justin Gaethje also received “Dana White privilege” from the UFC president. Chandler got the vacant title shot against Charles Oliveira back at UFC 262 in May, and Gaethje made it clear that he was not pleased as he believed it should have been him who got the title shot. However, the UFC went ahead and gave Chandler the shot instead, and he lost via TKO. With Gaethje not getting the fight, he sat on the sidelines and as of right now he’s been out of the Octagon for a full year. But this Saturday at UFC 268, he gets the chance to fight Chandler in what should be one of the best fights on the whole card.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Daniel Cormier and Justin Gaethje were involved in a heated exchange on Twitter after ‘DC’ suggested Islam Makhachev should get a title fight. Makhachev (21-1 MMA) returned to action on today’s UFC 267 main card for a lightweight bout with perennial division contender Dan Hooker (21-11 MMA).

Adam D Martin - October 13, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje expressed his disdain for welterweight Colby Covington but admitted that “he’s a good fighter.” Gaethje is set to take on Michael Chandler at UFC 268 next month in an important fight between two of the top-five ranked lightweights in the world. In the main event of the card, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman fights Covington in a rematch. For Gaethje, he is teammates with Usman training under coach Trevor Wittman. So Gaethje is invested in this main event between Usman and Covington more than most people are.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

Justin Gaethje doesn’t think Charles Oliveira is the best lightweight in the UFC, despite being the champion. Oliveira won the vacant lightweight title at UFC 262 as he knocked out Michael Chandler in the second round. However, for Gaethje, despite the Brazilian being the champ, “The Highlight” says Oliveira is not the best lightweight.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2021

Justin Gaethje is looking for a fan-friendly fight but thinks Michael Chandler will try and wrestle him. Gaethje and Chandler are set to fight at UFC 268 on November 6 in Madison Square Garden in a highly-anticipated fight. When the fight was made, Chandler said he wouldn’t take a backward step but Gaethje doubts that will happen. Instead, he says he thinks the former Bellator lightweight champion will turn into a b***h and wrestle him.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev trolled divisional rival Justin Gaethje over his recent criticism regarding his UFC ranking. After defeating Thiago Moises for his eighth straight win inside the Octagon, Makhachev improved to 9-1 overall in the UFC and he was bumped all the way to No. 5 in the rankings. Considering Makhachev was ranked far lower before the Moises fight — who was ranked just No. 14 — it surprised a lot of fans and media when Makhachev was bumped so high up the rankings. Obviously, he is a very talented fighter who some believe could be a future UFC champion. But beating someone ranked low like Moises didn’t necessarily earn Makhachev his spot in the top-five, shooting past vets like Rafael dos Anjos on the way.

Adam D Martin - September 24, 2021

Dustin Poirier disagrees with divisional rival Justin Gaethje calling UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira a “quitter.” There were times in the past when Oliveira would close up shop if things weren’t going his way in his fights, but those days are long ago. Oliveira is now the UFC lightweight champion and he showed in his title fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 that he can take a punch and still keep on coming. After losing a 10-8 first round on the judges’ scorecards to Chandler at UFC 266, Oliveira came back in the second round and knocked his rival out. While in the past, Oliveira may have given up after getting hurt and facing adversity, he showed Chandler that he has a lot more heart in it now than he did before.

Adam D Martin - September 21, 2021

Justin Gaethje took aim at “b*tch” Kevin Lee, saying “that knockout against Gillespie was the worst thing that could’ve happened to him.” Gaethje was recently a guest of UFC Unfiltered and he was asked his thoughts on the rest of the lightweight division. When asked about UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira’s current win streak, Geathje criticized the Brazilian for what he perceives to be a soft schedule of competition. Outside of Tony Ferguson, according to Gaethje, Oliveira didn’t have any good wins during his win streak before he fought Michael Chandler for the vacant title at UFC 262. Well, he says, Lee was a pretty good win too — with a caveat.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje blasted “quitter” Charles Oliveira ahead of the Dustin Poirier title fight at UFC 269. Oliveira knocked out Michael Chandler at UFC 262 to become the new UFC lightweight champion, and he will put his belt on the line against Poirier at UFC 269 in December. Gaethje has been critical of Oliveira since he won the belt, as he didn’t believe that Michael Chandler should have been the one fighting for the vacant belt. With Gaethje now fighting Chandler at UFC 268, a win there could very well earn him a title shot against the winner of the Oliveira vs. Poirier fight. And if you ask Gaethje, that will be Poirier getting the win.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC lightweight title contender Michael Chandler explained why he hasn’t gotten himself vaccinated against COVID-19 yet. Chandler is set to take on rival Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 in November at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. When the fight was first announced, one of the potential issues in booking the fight was that Chandler is not yet vaccinated. At first, it was expected that athletes competing on the New York card would have to show proof of being vaccinated. However, that won’t be the case as the fighters won’t have to be vaccinated.

Adam D Martin - September 14, 2021

UFC lightweight title contender Michael Chandler says he’s “ready for violence” against divisional rival Justin Gaethje at UFC 268. Chandler meets Gaethje on November 6 at UFC 268 in what should be an absolute war between two of the best lightweights on the UFC roster. With Chandler coming off of a stoppage loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 and with Gaethje coming off of a finish defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, both fighters need to get back into the win column.

Drake Riggs - September 8, 2021

Michael Chandler isn’t backing down from his next challenge. Set to collide with the equally exciting Justin Gaethje (22-3) at UFC 268 on Nov. 6, Chandler has made his intentions very clear.

Harry Kettle - September 6, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has hit back at Justin Gaethje for claiming his title win made the division a “laughing stock” earlier this year. While Oliveira may have won the title fair and square against Michael Chandler at UFC 262, many felt as if it wasn’t a legitimate undisputed championship fight due to the absence of Dustin Poirier. Gaethje has made it crystal clear in the last few months that he didn’t really understand the booking, and after taking another shot at Oliveira, “Do Bronx” has decided to fire back.

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2021

Justin Gaethje wanted to fight Max Holloway and had hoped he would move up to lightweight again. After Gaethje was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight strap last October, he said he wanted to return ASAP. That didn’t come to fruition and he has been on the sidelines for over a year by the time he returns. When he was sitting on the sidelines and he saw the featherweight title fight between Alex Volkanovski and Brian Ortega get delayed, he said he asked for a fight with Holloway.

Cole Shelton - August 31, 2021

Justin Gaethje wasn’t a fan of the Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler fighting for the vacant lightweight title. When Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov were lightweight champions, the division was never hotter as it was considered the best division in the UFC. However, when Nurmagomedov announced his retirement and vacated his belt, the promotion booked Oliveira vs. Chandler, which Gaethje thinks was a big mistake.

Harry Kettle - August 26, 2021

Michael Chandler has given a quick overview of who he believes to be amongst the elite of the elite in the lightweight division. Chandler has had a fascinating start to his UFC career dating all the way back to when he played the role of alternate for the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje fight. Since then he’s gone on to finish Dan Hooker before almost doing the same to Charles Oliveira, only to ultimately lose via strikes early in the second round.