LAS VEGAS – While much of the MMA community is speculating about the future and focusing on big fights and a roadmap to winning UFC gold, Justin Gaethje is solely focused on the present.
For Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 MMA), the current task is monumental. UFC) against Max Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 MMA) UFC) BMF title fight at UFC 300 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
“I know if I win here I can fight for the (lightweight) belt,” Gaethje told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I know if I lose here, everything is gone. That's what I'm fighting for.”
No one knows the stakes in the “BMF” title fight. This is only the third time in the promotion's history, and the first time the title has been held vacant going into the match. With UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev unbooked, Dustin Poirier scoring a KO win and Gaethje sharing the UFC 300 card with Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan, the division is on fire. However, the title image is cloudy.
Gaethje thinks that's a problem to solve later.
“I'm the type of person who runs about 400 meters at a time,” Gaethje said. “I don't think too far ahead. To be honest, I don't know what the future holds. Usually I don't plan on being alive the day after a fight, so I hope I'll be alive on Sunday.” but.
“…I'm not going to play on a what-if basis, but I can't afford to miss out on a chance at a championship. I want my time (off). Every time I get in a fight, I'm dealing with the trauma of my life. So I think June is probably not going to be possible for me. I have to go home and relax and take care of my body and take care of my mind. But the coaches and managers who make the final decisions. If they say, “Go,'' I will go.''
Gaethje, 35, has back-to-back wins over Rafael Fiziev and Dustin Poirier, but hasn't fought since July 2023. Nurmagomedov is 7-2 in his last nine fights and has only two losses against Oliveira and Khabib for a title shot.
For more information on this card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 300 event hub.
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