Justin Gaethje Still Can’t Punch After Fighting Ilia Topuria

What is the plan after fighting?

Is that something that you've, you know, put any thought into?

Other than going to be a celebrity golfer, I definitely put some thought into it, but I just, you know, right now I still can't, like I said, I can't punch anything right now.

I'm still, my both of my hands are still hurt from my fight.

I still have like a really deep bruise in my knee that I've had since Christmas, so I dealt with it through both of these last two fights and it never healed.

So I'm just, uh, gonna enjoy being the champion for the rest of the year because I fought 2 times already, um, in the 1st 6 months, and then.

You know, um, put everything on paper, pros and cons, talk to all my family and everybody that, you know, that loves me and that I trust to.

Be honest with me and then I'll make a decision.

I love that.

I think that's great.

Um, I did wanna ask, you know, does retirement scare you?

We see fighters who have had longtime careers such as yourself go through, you know, certain things in their retirement.

Is that something that worries you at all?

Um, I mean, it doesn't worry me.

I I mean, so we're not even talking about specific people, but Most of the people that go crazy when they're done fighting were crazy before they started fighting.

Um, and so, and I think they were, you know, obviously fighting was like something that kept them on track and, you know, goal oriented, and then without that they just are back to just being absolutely insane, but, uh, you know, I have an amazing family and, uh, uh, a great foundation, I think.

That I will, you know, have a mission which whatever that, whether it's gonna be, you know, through like human services using my college degree, but I'm, like I said, I'm gonna use my name.

If I can use my name to raise money for Saint Jude for, for veteran nonprofits, uh, for first responders, then I'm just gonna, you know, have them bring me out and, and use me like that for as long as possible, but I think I'm gonna always have, you know, I have a, I have a MMA equipment business, so I'm always gonna be really busy with that.

Um, you know, trying to protect the fire.

What is, what exactly is that?

Can you talk about that a little bit more, the MMA equipment business?

You've probably heard of that, uh, so yeah, that's the, that's my business.

Me and my coach Trevor started that literally like 2014, and it's been so difficult to get up and going.

Uh, we went through COVID and manufacturing and just so many, so many crazy issues that you would never even imagine you'd have to go through when you start something like that.

But yeah, it's been a, a great learning process and You know, it just starting to see, starting to see the upside of, of running a big business.

So yeah, it's really cool, but it's really, really time consuming.

Oh, I can imagine.

Um, you know, going back to the fight, the, you know, the White House fight, obviously Iio Zoria, you have been very adamant about not giving him a rematch because he quit on the stool.

Is that still something that's solid, solid, solid ground?

Um, yeah, I mean, ultimately the UFC makes the decision on who I'm gonna fight next, so, OK, um.

But I, I just don't think that they would.

I mean, who knows when he, I mean, I guess if I'm not fighting till next year, he's probably not gonna fight till next year too, seeing as he's probably recovering from some things, but I don't know.

I don't think that's, I don't think that's my next fight.

I don't feel, I don't feel it in my, in my gut.

Do you ever just wake up and be like, Damn, I did that, you know, put on a legendary performance on the South Lawn of South Lawn of the White House?

Yeah, every day it gets, it gets a little bit more real because for me it was just another fight.

Like, you know, I had made, I had made both of my previous championship fights like so much bigger than, than a fight, you know, the one versus Khabib, the one versus Charles.

I really wanted to, like, you know, become the best in the world and win a championship, but this, you know, then I learned the lessons that It's just another fight, and so.

Yeah, I mean, My, uh, I think my, especially with the Max Holloway loss, you know, getting knocked out, everyone thinking I would never have a chance again, and me being able to come back in and accomplish this, yeah, I think it's, it's just been crazy.

It's been such a crazy ride.

Such crazy ride, but I do wake up sometimes and I'm like.

Fuck yeah.

Yeah, I did that.

You definitely did that, man .

You are, you're a goat for.

My coaches, my coach is amazing.

We had such a good game plan, and I've been through the trials and tribulations that I needed to go through to be able to perform, uh, in that setting, and yeah, it was, it was awesome.

Yeah, absolutely, um, one thing I did notice about that night, you had a flawless performance.

Everything was perfect, but there's one thing you did not stick the landing on the backflip.

I went for a double backflip.

Oh, is that what it was?

OK, OK.

Does that ever scare you, just jumping off of the, the octagon?

No, no, no, no.

Are you just too high on life at the moment to even care?

I'm so, I'm so locked in.

That's the last time I'm gonna mess up.

I mean, I mean that and I do, I I've been doing it off of everything all the time forever, uh, maybe when, I think I was gonna fight either Khabib or Oliveira, and I was doing backflips off the occasion in the gym, and my coach is like, hey, like we can't, you know, you should stop doing backflips.

I was like, Today is the day you want me to just turn into a bitch.

Like right, right, right now, let's do it today.

I was like, I don't.

He's like, OK.

Do your backflips.

When was the first time you hit the backflip?

Oh, I had a trampoline when I was a kid and I wasn't allowed inside, so I was just out there flipping off shit.

Uh, OK, in a fight, was it the first fight that you did it?

Oh, the first time I did a, uh, back off the cage after a fight.

Yeah, it would probably be like the World Series of Fighting Days of 2014.

I bet you the first time you landed it you were like holy shit.

No, that was I had done it hundreds of times in the gym.

OK, OK.

It was just the debut, you were ready for it.

Haven't missed yet.

Knock on wood, I'm right there with you.

So, we do got Armand versus Rufie coming up, and they say that is the number one title contender fight.

Is that something that interests you at all?

Uh yeah, absolutely.

I mean, I'm the champion, so anytime there's a, a big fight like that in my weight class, especially with two potential contenders, I mean, it's definitely, I love this sport.

I love watching fights.

I think it's a good matchup.

Roofies looked incredible and Arman, you know, is.

His own, his own problems, so yeah, I think it's gonna be a great fight.

Absolutely.

Do you have a prediction?

No.

No.

What is it?

It is California, I believe that is September 19th.

Yes, LA, yeah, coming up LA.

That's right, um, we did never get the fight between the two of you.

So how do you feel about a a fight between you and Connor?

Uh, it is the last fight on his contract.

Is that something that interests you at all?

You're like, uh, well, if it came to my table, I would entertain it, but I would doubt that.

I mean.

Yeah, he's going through his own stuff.

I don't even want to shit on that guy anymore.

I'm gonna, that doesn't work because I've tried.

Yeah, um, I know you said, you know, you wanna talk to the people who you trust and that love you the most, but just, do you ever just consider it, you know, riding off into the sunset, you know, while you're on the literal top of the mountain.

Well, of course, I've considered it, but.

Um Not in like a like a like a serious sense, but I thought about like what that would look like so that, you know, my my my I so that I wouldn't go crazy if I do decide that that's that's the case, but I mean I just performed better than I've ever performed.

I just beat a guy that everybody considered unbeatable, so that's a big variable when it comes to like should I perform again and you know, if I'm performing better than ever, I don't know how, how I don't do it.

So we'll see, we'll see when we get there.