- Justin Gaethje opened up about his thoughts on the BMF
- “Highlight” confided that a win over Dustin Poirier would mean a lot and could also give him a chance to avenge some of his losses
Justin Gaethje is set for one of the biggest fights of his career as he takes on Dustin Poirier for the BMF title at UFC 291. Apart from winning the special title, Gaethje also thinks a win would bring him back to title contention where he could possibly avenge his past losses.
Ready to be the BMF
Speaking to TMZ, “Highlight” said the BMF is far from the UFC championship title but it’s still important for him as it could give him another shot at the lightweight belt.
“It’s completely separate from the actual championship belt but I think it’s really iconic. You know, there’s only been two guys in the world that have ever fought for it. We’ll be the two out of four guys now. And I think it’s, it does great things for the legacy, that’s ultimately what we’re here to build is a legacy. Make money. That’s there. And, you know, it catapults us right into the championship talk. So it’s perfect.”
Gaethje already lost to Poirier in 2018 but he remains confident what happened then is no longer relevant at present. He sees himself beating “The Diamond” but at the same time, “Highlight” is also hoping to be lucky come fight night.
“It’s part of my journey. It’s something that I’ll cherish forever, but you know, I don’t think it’s a huge factor,” Gaethje said of his TKO loss to Poirier. “It’s five years ago. We both grown so much and we’ve both been in some huge fights since that day. So yeah, I think it’s again something that I’ll always cherish, but it’s not something that I’m using to game plan for this fight.”
“There’s a lot of ways I see my hand being raised,” he added. “I mean, being a better fighter, being the more athletic fighter, and a lot of preparation goes into this stuff but there’s always a little bit of luck and a little bit of chance, so you gotta hope you’re on the right end of the stick on that one.”
“I have no hard feelings going in there this is just two of the best guys in the world fighting each other for a chance to fight for the belt. It’s what we both signed up for, it’s what we do it’s who we are and so yeah he’s a formidable opponent and I can’t wait to get in there with him.”
6 years ago, #OnThisDay Justin Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje) made his UFC debut, stopping Michael Johnson in the 2nd round at TUF 25 Finale. pic.twitter.com/RKmA6gZ7Zq
— Josh (@JUchiha909) July 7, 2023
Justin wants revenge
Aside from the BMF title, Gaethje also looks at the entire scenario as a perfect way to avenge his previous losses. For Gaethje, a win over Poirier would make him feel as if he already beat Eddie Alvarez, who knocked him out at UFC 218, while a win over Islam Makhachev in the future would mean like he defeated Khabib Nurmagmodov, who submitted him in their title match at UFC 254.
“I’m not too worried about that right now. [Poirier is] the number two-ranked guy in the world. I’m the number three-ranked guy in the world. I think no matter what it’s a given that the winner of this fight, we either fight the winner of the fight in October or the fight in October. And if one of us is able to go in there and get a quick knockout and take no damage, then there’s a slight possibility that maybe we’ll be ready for October but we’ll see,” Gaethje said.
“Absolutely! [I want to fight Islam] I mean this will be two opportunities to kind of get my losses back. Khabib beat me, Islam’s kind of his prodigy and so I can kind of get that fight back a little bit you know, he beat Oliveira so I can certainly get a two for one deal on that one and you know this chance I got right now is to get my first loss or second loss back. [Eddie] Alvarez is gone, not gonna get that one back but Poirier has beat him so you know, I don’t want to play mental gymnastics all that matters is uh July 29th,” he explained.
Done with Conor
Gaethje has also been linked to a showdown with Conor McGregor in the past. However, “Highlight” refused to comment further about it as he has already moved on from “Notorious.”
“[I’m] way past that. He’s not he’s not even gonna fight Michael Chandler… I don’t even know man, rather just not even talk about it,” he pointed out.
UFC 291 will take place this weekend at Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Gaethje is coming in off a decision win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286. On the other hand, Poirier is also coming off a submission win over Michael Chandler at UFC 281.
