It would seem that Justin Gaethje has the higher-ups on board when it comes to his desire to challenge for the UFC lightweight title again.
Gaethje secured a huge result in the context of his ongoing ambitions on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage this weekend, when the promotion staged its latest pay-per-view event at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
“The Highlight” co-headlined UFC 313 in a rematch with Rafael Fiziev, who stepped up on short notice to replace the injured Dan Hooker.
While the Azerbaijani performed admirably across three rounds of brutal back-and-forth action, it wasn’t enough to exact revenge on Gaethje, who once again added Fiziev’s name to his record’s win column by way of decision.
The win marked a rebound for the American 11 months on from a devastating knockout loss to Max Holloway. Beforehand, “The Highlight” was in the conversation for a title shot after sleeping Dustin Poirier, and he now hopes to be back in that discussion.
During his post-fight press conference, Dana White reacted to Gaethje announcing his continued push toward Islam Makhachev’s gold at the age of 36. The UFC CEO’s remarks made for good listening for the ex-interim champ.
“I mean, what’s he ranked right now? Fourth or something, right? Third?” White said. “There you go. He’s still the number three-ranked guy in the world. So the odds of him getting a title shot are pretty good.”
Justin Gaethje has previously fallen short of the undisputed throne on two occasions, with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira submitting him in 2020 and 2022, respectively.
