Justin Gaethje on UFC 300: ‘It’s The Most Exciting Thing For Me’

“I’m ready for high volume and I’m ready for five rounds”

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Justin Gaethje has one more fight to win–and a belt to defend–before he challenges for the UFC lightweight championship.

On a loaded UFC 300 card this Saturday, Gaethje fights Max Holloway in a lightweight bout for the ceremonial BMF title. With a packed lineup, this is only the third bout on the main card–incredibly, not even a co-main event.

“I’m a huge fan of this sport,” said Gaethje. “If I was not fighting on this card, I would be in attendance. I don’t see a better card on pay-per-view. We’re starting off with [Cody] Garbrandt and [Deiveson] Figueiredo. For that time to be the first fight [of the early prelims], it’s going to be crazy. It’s a fan’s dream.”

Justin Gaethje

Courtesy Zuffa LLC

Now 35, Gaethje is doing everything possible to avoid Father Time as he pursues the lightweight title. It is necessary to capitalize on every opportunity as he pursues one final shot at the belt. With a victory against Holloway, it will be hard to deny him a shot at Islam Makhachev–or whomever else is wearing the crown.

“Any time I’m going into a fight, it’s the most exciting thing for me,” said Gaethje. “It’s a monumental card. I’m excited to fight Max. I’m a performer, and I’m excited to perform.”

Even though it would have been a title bout, Gaethje turned down an offer to fight Makhachev on short notice this past fall. Alexander Volkanovski instead accepted the offer, replacing the injured Charles Oliveira, and was summarily knocked out by Makhachev.

“To perform like I do, I need a full camp to fight anybody,” said Gaethje. “When Oliveira got hurt, it was only a couple weeks out, and the fight was in a different country. I would have been asking too much of myself to do that. That’s not something I recommend any fighter would do. I know I fought Tony Ferguson [in May of 2020 for the interim title] as a late replacement, but I was also very confident that I was ready. This time, I wasn’t training for anything specifically. I wasn’t going to give my shot away by taking that risk.

“Hindsight’s 20/20. Before I took this fight, I certainly didn’t get any kind of answer that I was going to be fighting for the belt. In this sport, the longer you sit out, the more you let other people step in front of you. So this is a fight I had to take, especially at the time when I took it.”

Justin Gaethje

Courtesy WWE

Holloway (25-7) will be competing in his first lightweight bout since losing to Dustin Poirier in 2019. Poirier, of course, is the man who Gaethje defeated in July to become BMF champ. Both Gaethje (25-4) and Holloway have won two in a row, so someone’s streak is coming an end.

While preparing for the bout, Gaethje said that he has not found any time to watch Conor McGregor star in the new Road House film.

“No, I have not seen the movie,” said Gaethje, who was asked if McGregor will ever fight Michael Chandler. “I don’t think too much about that.”

In the bout before Gaethje at UFC 300, Oliveira fights Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator for the lightweight belt. But a lot can change in MMA, and it is possible that Gaethje ends up next in line for a title shot. In order to stay in the thick of the hunt, he must defeat Holloway.

Holloway will look to damage Gaethje through his striking. Ultimately, there are more ways for Gaethje to win this fight, but Holloway still presents real danger.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” said Gaethje. “I’ve been focusing on my cardio. If it does go into the later rounds, I’ll be fresh enough to perform. I’m ready for high volume and I’m ready for five rounds.”