UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has praise for Justin Gaethje going into UFC 249.
Gaethje is scheduled to share the Octagon with Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18. Gaethje stepped in when UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov couldn’t make the event due to a travel ban in Russia. Ferguson vs. Gaethje will be contested for the interim UFC lightweight title.
Joe Rogan Calls Justin Gaethje A ‘Monster’
During a new edition of the JRE podcast, Rogan praised Gaethje ahead of UFC 249 (h/t BJPenn.com).
“Justin Gaethje’s a monster. He’s a monster. He’s a terrifying individual. He is, I mean, in a sport that’s violent, it’s an inherently violent sport, he stands out, as the most violent,” Joe Rogan said on his podcast. “I mean, you watch his knockout of Edson Barboza, you watch how that motherf****r attacks people. There’s a reckless abandon to his calculated wildness. It’s terrifying. He’s something special and he’s better all the time.
“The question is, how much has he been training? He’s taking a fight on very short notice,” he continued. “He’s taking the fight on essentially two weeks’ notice.”
Gaethje is riding a three-fight winning streak. In that span, he’s beaten Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and James Vick. All three bouts ended in the first round via knockout or TKO. This is Gaethje’s first shot at UFC gold, albeit interim.
As for Ferguson, he’s on a 12-fight winning streak. “El Cucuy” hasn’t suffered a loss since May 2012. A win over Gaethje would mean he’d become a two-time interim UFC lightweight champion.
UFC 249 will reportedly take place inside the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in California. Since that area is on tribal land, the UFC would be exempt from California’s stay-at-home order. The UFC also wouldn’t have to adhere to the California State Athletic Commission.
