- Justin Gaethje lost the title match to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in Nurmagomedov’s retirement fight
- Gaethje has identified the mistake he made in the Nurmagomedov fight and promises not to repeat it against Charles Oliveira
One of the most exciting fighters in the UFC will take on the most decorated submission artist in the history of the promotion this weekend. In a card stacked to the brim with talent, Justin Gaethje will challenge Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight gold at UFC 274.
Ahead of the event, Gaethje has identified the one mistake he made in his last loss to the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Justin Gaethje identifies mistake
In October 2020, former interim UFC lightweight titleholder Justin Gaethje took on the undefeated former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. After the savage beating the human ‘Highlight’ reel put on Tony Ferguson in his previous bout, fans were expecting him to be the toughest challenge the Dagestani had ever faced.
Instead, Nurmagomedov put on a dominant display of his abilities as he dismantled Gaethje in the second round via a triangle choke.
Speaking on the UFC 274 Countdown video, Gaethje pointed out his mistake of not moving forward against Nurmagomedov. He’s assured the fans that he won’t repeat it against Charles Oliveira.
https://youtu.be/4GCbxhAAz48
. “I have to be perfect,” Gaethje said. “The only time I’ve ever took another strategy, where I wasn’t moving forward, was against Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and I’ll never do that again. So, if he is moving forward, know then things aren’t going good for me.”
“I’m going to be perfect and I’ll be perfect for 25 minutes,” Gaethje told Megan Olivi.
Charles Oliveira believes his stand-up to be better than Gaethje
With a fan-friendly style of striking, Gaethje has always been a source of entertainment from his very first fight. The man has accumulated more bonuses than fights in the organization. Having only one loss on his record via submission, Gaethje will need to be well prepared to face Oliveira (who has the most submissions in the history of UFC) this weekend.
‘do Bronx’ believes that his stand-up game is better than Gaethje and there’s a point to be made there. As someone with such high-level grappling, people often make the mistake to overlook his striking abilities.
“Justin [Gaethje] is a guy who is a brawler, believing in his hands 100 per cent because that’s all he’s got, his hands,” Oliveira said. “I have all the advantages over him, I’m better on my feet, on the ground and at wrestling. My mind and spirit is better than his. I’m the champion, that’s the reality.”
Who do you have winning this weekend, Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje?
