Justin Gaethje couldn’t have done much more to impress at UFC 313 — though Kamaru Usman does have one thing in mind.
Gaethje recorded a crucial victory in the co-main event of this past weekend’s pay-per-view in Las Vegas, which came 11 months on from his devastating knockout loss at the hands of Max Holloway.
To keep his name in the championship conversation and avoid a first losing skid since 2018, “The Highlight” was tasked with once again getting the better of Rafael Fiziev, who stepped in on short notice to replace the injured Dan Hooker.
Despite a valiant effort from the Azerbaijani, Gaethje repeated his 2023 decision victory over him, this time getting the nod on all three scorecards after a brutal three-round battle at T-Mobile Arena.
The fan-favorite brawler was relatively reserved on the microphone during his Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, much to the frustration of his longtime teammate.
“You gotta sell yourself sometimes,” Usman said of Justin Gaethje on his Pound 4 Pound podcast. “This is where you do it because as much of a performer you are in there, you gotta give them something to look forward to. … This is WWE, and ‘The Rock’ and these guys do so well.
“Justin, you gotta do a little better job of that,” he continued. “But he’s just so damn honest, which is why I love that frickin’ dude.”
Gaethje and Usman have both trained under the tutelage of renowned coach Trevor Wittman for years.
