Justin Gaethje guarantees that he has undergone a transformative journey since his defeat to Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
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Justin Gaethje guarantees that he has undergone a transformative journey since his defeat to Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. Following the submission loss to Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 29-9 UFC) in their lightweight title clash in May 2022, Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has bounced back triumphantly, securing two consecutive victories.
He secured a decision win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286, and in a thrilling turn of events, he earned a knockout victory against Dustin Poirier, claiming the “BMF” title less than a fortnight ago at UFC 291, solidifying his position as the undisputed No. 1 contender.
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Since his arrival in the UFC, Gaethje has proven to be a bonus-generating force, captivating fans with a plethora of intense battles. While he continues to collect these bonuses, “The Highlight” has recently showcased a notably more poised and controlled iteration of himself.
While he anticipates facing the victor between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Oliveira at UFC 294 on Oct. 21, Gaethje looked back on his swift but action-packed loss to Oliveira.
“I made a huge mistake and I really got caught up in the moment when I fought Charles Oliveira,” Gaethje told ESPN. “Like if you look at the difference between my walkout in this fight and the Charles Oliveira fight, like, I am a different person. I do not recognize the person that fought Oliveira. It’s still a battle that I’m going to face every single time I step in there, to not get caught up in the what are we doing, what’s it for.
“Outside of just being present and trusting in my preparation and trusting in my intuition and being calm in that sense or in that arena, and I think again it was just a mistake I made. It was kind of the last learning lesson that I needed because I still wasn’t convinced that whether I’m aggressive or not aggressive, I didn’t think that was a huge factor. I thought I would still perform the same way but it’s certainly was a detriment to my performance that night.”
Gaethje and Poirier set the stage ablaze in their initial encounter back in 2018, leaving many to anticipate a similar showdown in their rematch at UFC 291. However, Gaethje had a different strategy in mind, one he believes caught Poirier off guard.
“I’m skipping towards the cage, I’m singing a song that I don’t even understand the words to, kind of like Dustin came out, just hyped up,” Gaethje said. “Dustin came out for a war and I gave him a ballet, and it was it was the best thing I could have done. I mean he was expecting a war and I gave him the opposite. I guarantee that frustrated him and he was probably very surprised, and it was perfect. It worked out perfect on my end.”
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