Justin Gaethje is certainly not happy with being sidelined from the UFC lightweight contention.
Gaethje returned to the win column with a convincing unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 this past March. Wasting no time, "The Highlight" made it clear he believed he’d earned the next crack at then-lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
However, Makhachev vacated his title to pursue new challenges at welterweight. As a result, former featherweight king Ilia Topuria is now set to collide with Charles Oliveira in the UFC 317 headliner to determine the new lightweight king.
Gaethje’s critics argue that a title shot would be undeserved, pointing to his dramatic, last-second knockout loss to Max Holloway in their BMF title clash at UFC 300 in April 2024 as a major blemish on his recent resume.
Justin Gaethje Says UFC 300 Knockout Is Irrelevant To Title Contention
During a recent appearance on The Makeshift Podcast, Justin Gaethje reflected on his UFC 300 clash with Max Holloway, describing it as more of a crowd-pleasing showcase for the fans and the promotion than a bout with any real implications for the lightweight division.
They owe me a championship fight,” Justin Gaethje said. "I’m 3-1 in my last four. They came to my house begging me to fight Max Holloway at UFC 300. I consider that an exhibition fight. I don’t mean that the loss is not on my record, it had nothing to do with the rankings in my [division at the time]. In the time that I did that, Dustin Poirier, who I had just beat, got a good win over [Benoit] Saint Denis and then fought for the belt.
“The Highlight” didn’t hold back as he aired his frustration over the current state of the 155-pound division, making it clear he has no intention of jeopardizing his position with any non-title bout—unless the UFC puts a massive paycheck on the table.
Since [I beat Fiziev], [Makhachev] had been saying he wants to fight me. They could’ve easily set that up, but they didn’t. Then he vacates, and then Oliveira is 2-2 in his last [four fights], already has a loss to Makhachev, and they bring a brand new guy in. And I get f**ked again.So I’m not going to fight any of these motherf**kers for fun unless they pay me so much more money… If I’m going to take a risky fight, if I lose, I’m going to be set up [financially], and if I win, I’m fighting for a belt — or I’m not doing it.
The former UFC interim lightweight champion has struggled to find consistent form in recent outings, managing a modest 4-3 record across his last seven trips to the Octagon.
Justin Gaethje has fallen short in both of his previous attempts at undisputed UFC gold, suffering submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in October 2020 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 274 in May 2022.
