Justin Gaethje News

Cole Shelton - November 4, 2021

Opening up UFC 268 from Madison Square Garden, Justin Gaethje takes on Michael Chandler which promises to be fireworks for however long it lasts. Heading into the fight, Gaethje is a -210 favorite while the former Bellator champ is a +175 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros lean towards Gaethje getting it done by KO as they trust his durability more than Chandler.

Adam D Martin - November 4, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje says he will “riot” if he doesn’t get a title shot for beating Michael Chandler at UFC 268. Gaethje returns to the Octagon after a 13-month layoff when he takes on Chandler in the UFC 268 pay-per-view main card opener. For Gaethje, this is a huge fight for him as he looks to bounce back from his submission loss to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, while it’s equally as important for Chandler’s career. After knocking out Dan Hooker in his UFC debut, Chandler lost by knockout to Charles Oliveira in his last fight in a failed bid to become the new UFC lightweight champ. So both Gaethje and Chandler are coming off of losses heading into this bout and they both desperately need a win here if they want to remain alive in the crowded UFC lightweight title picture.

Harry Kettle - November 4, 2021

Justin Gaethje has explained why Edson Barboza was the UFC opponent he was the most terrified of fighting. This Saturday night, Justin Gaethje is set to return to the Octagon for the first time since being submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254. He’ll be doing so at Madison Square Garden, and he’ll be competing against fellow top contender Michael Chandler.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

Islam Makhachev ripped Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler ahead of UFC 268, saying “everybody is tired about these guys because they’re old.” Makhachev put on arguably the best performance of his MMA career last Saturday at UFC 268 when he submitted Dan Hooker in the first round. Considering how tough and durable Hooker is — this was his first submission loss in nearly a decade — it was absolutely incredible to see Makhachev go through him like a knife through hot butter. It was the kind of win that the Russian needs in order to really cement himself as one of the top lightweights in the UFC. With a 10-1 record now in the promotion, including the nine-fight win streak that he currently rides, it’s clear that Makhachev is closing in on a title shot.

Adam D Martin - November 2, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler believes that his rival Justin Gaethje also received “Dana White privilege” from the UFC president. Chandler got the vacant title shot against Charles Oliveira back at UFC 262 in May, and Gaethje made it clear that he was not pleased as he believed it should have been him who got the title shot. However, the UFC went ahead and gave Chandler the shot instead, and he lost via TKO. With Gaethje not getting the fight, he sat on the sidelines and as of right now he’s been out of the Octagon for a full year. But this Saturday at UFC 268, he gets the chance to fight Chandler in what should be one of the best fights on the whole card.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Daniel Cormier and Justin Gaethje were involved in a heated exchange on Twitter after ‘DC’ suggested Islam Makhachev should get a title fight. Makhachev (21-1 MMA) returned to action on today’s UFC 267 main card for a lightweight bout with perennial division contender Dan Hooker (21-11 MMA).

Adam D Martin - October 14, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje says that he promises to finish Michael Chandler as “violently as possible” at UFC 268. Gaethje hasn’t competed since last October when he lost by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 253. Chandler, meanwhile, is coming off of a vacant title fight TKO loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 263. When Gaethje and Chandler meet next month at UFC 268, it promises to be an action-packed fight between two of the best lightweights in the world. And as far as Gaethje goes, it will be like many of his fights: brutal and violent.

Adam D Martin - October 13, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje expressed his disdain for welterweight Colby Covington but admitted that “he’s a good fighter.” Gaethje is set to take on Michael Chandler at UFC 268 next month in an important fight between two of the top-five ranked lightweights in the world. In the main event of the card, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman fights Covington in a rematch. For Gaethje, he is teammates with Usman training under coach Trevor Wittman. So Gaethje is invested in this main event between Usman and Covington more than most people are.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2021

Justin Gaethje is looking for a fan-friendly fight but thinks Michael Chandler will try and wrestle him. Gaethje and Chandler are set to fight at UFC 268 on November 6 in Madison Square Garden in a highly-anticipated fight. When the fight was made, Chandler said he wouldn’t take a backward step but Gaethje doubts that will happen. Instead, he says he thinks the former Bellator lightweight champion will turn into a b***h and wrestle him.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev trolled divisional rival Justin Gaethje over his recent criticism regarding his UFC ranking. After defeating Thiago Moises for his eighth straight win inside the Octagon, Makhachev improved to 9-1 overall in the UFC and he was bumped all the way to No. 5 in the rankings. Considering Makhachev was ranked far lower before the Moises fight — who was ranked just No. 14 — it surprised a lot of fans and media when Makhachev was bumped so high up the rankings. Obviously, he is a very talented fighter who some believe could be a future UFC champion. But beating someone ranked low like Moises didn’t necessarily earn Makhachev his spot in the top-five, shooting past vets like Rafael dos Anjos on the way.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje explained how “special circumstances” should have resulted in him fighting for the vacant lightweight title. Gaethje lost via second-round submission to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov a year ago at UFC 254. Following the fight, however, “The Eagle” announced that he was retiring from combat sports and he vacated his belt. While many thought that Gaethje would get the first crack at the vacant belt, the UFC instead chose to go with Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, instead. The two lightweights met in the main event of UFC 262 back in May, with Oliveira winning the belt via second-round TKO.

Adam D Martin - September 24, 2021

Dustin Poirier disagrees with divisional rival Justin Gaethje calling UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira a “quitter.” There were times in the past when Oliveira would close up shop if things weren’t going his way in his fights, but those days are long ago. Oliveira is now the UFC lightweight champion and he showed in his title fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 that he can take a punch and still keep on coming. After losing a 10-8 first round on the judges’ scorecards to Chandler at UFC 266, Oliveira came back in the second round and knocked his rival out. While in the past, Oliveira may have given up after getting hurt and facing adversity, he showed Chandler that he has a lot more heart in it now than he did before.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje blasted “quitter” Charles Oliveira ahead of the Dustin Poirier title fight at UFC 269. Oliveira knocked out Michael Chandler at UFC 262 to become the new UFC lightweight champion, and he will put his belt on the line against Poirier at UFC 269 in December. Gaethje has been critical of Oliveira since he won the belt, as he didn’t believe that Michael Chandler should have been the one fighting for the vacant belt. With Gaethje now fighting Chandler at UFC 268, a win there could very well earn him a title shot against the winner of the Oliveira vs. Poirier fight. And if you ask Gaethje, that will be Poirier getting the win.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC lightweight title contender Michael Chandler explained why he hasn’t gotten himself vaccinated against COVID-19 yet. Chandler is set to take on rival Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 in November at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. When the fight was first announced, one of the potential issues in booking the fight was that Chandler is not yet vaccinated. At first, it was expected that athletes competing on the New York card would have to show proof of being vaccinated. However, that won’t be the case as the fighters won’t have to be vaccinated.

Drake Riggs - September 14, 2021

The highly anticipated matchup between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler is set to go down… but it wasn’t without a brief scare. With UFC 268 on Nov. 6 taking place in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, there was reason to worry about the event happening at all due to potential COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Therefore leading Chandler to voice his opinion by sharing that he didn’t intend on getting the vaccine until it was “100 percent FDA approved.”

Adam D Martin - September 14, 2021

UFC lightweight title contender Michael Chandler says he’s “ready for violence” against divisional rival Justin Gaethje at UFC 268. Chandler meets Gaethje on November 6 at UFC 268 in what should be an absolute war between two of the best lightweights on the UFC roster. With Chandler coming off of a stoppage loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 and with Gaethje coming off of a finish defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, both fighters need to get back into the win column.

Harry Kettle - September 6, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has hit back at Justin Gaethje for claiming his title win made the division a “laughing stock” earlier this year. While Oliveira may have won the title fair and square against Michael Chandler at UFC 262, many felt as if it wasn’t a legitimate undisputed championship fight due to the absence of Dustin Poirier. Gaethje has made it crystal clear in the last few months that he didn’t really understand the booking, and after taking another shot at Oliveira, “Do Bronx” has decided to fire back.

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2021

Justin Gaethje wanted to fight Max Holloway and had hoped he would move up to lightweight again. After Gaethje was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight strap last October, he said he wanted to return ASAP. That didn’t come to fruition and he has been on the sidelines for over a year by the time he returns. When he was sitting on the sidelines and he saw the featherweight title fight between Alex Volkanovski and Brian Ortega get delayed, he said he asked for a fight with Holloway.