Justin Gaethje excited to meet Charles Oliveira in 2022: “I can’t wait to break his face”

Justin Gaethje is excited to meet UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in 2022, saying that “I can’t wait to break his face.”

Gaethje is the No. 1 contender in the UFC lightweight division now that Oliveira defeated Dustin Poirier to defend the UFC lightweight title. Oliveira’s submission win over Poirier in the main event of UFC 269 showed once again that he is the best lightweight in the sport now that former champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is retired. With Poirier now out of the way, Gaethje is next up in line to fight Oliveira and he can’t wait to get in there and fight him.

The UFC brought Gaethje to Las Vegas to be a guest for UFC 269 so he got a first-hand view of the Oliviera and Poirier fight. Speaking on the ESPN post-fight show, Gaethje gave props to Oliveira after he came back and beat Poirier in the third round by stoppage.

“I absolutely loved it. I will give no disrespect to Charles. He is now the undisputed champion and I cannot wait to fight him. I don’t care where or when,” Gaethje said (via MMAFighting.com).

In the past, Gaethje has criticized Oliveira and said that he has “quit” in him. But after seeing Oliveira survive an early knockdown by Poirier and storm back to win in the third round, Gaethje is now not saying anything negative about Oliveira ahead of their fight.

“I saw a competitor tonight. I saw a dog and I can’t wait to break his face. He gets hit a lot,” Gaethje said. “He better pray and hope for the next however many days until our fight that he takes me down, gets his choke. Because if not, we see what happens.”

Who do you think will win between Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira in 2022 for the UFC lightweight title?