Justin
Gaethje has yet to decide the next step of his career.
Gaethje became the undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king with a massive
upset win over Ilia
Topuria, making the latter quit on his stool at
UFC Freedom 250 this past June. Amid recent developments in the
division, there’s growing speculation about his future.
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UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje details injuries and
weighs his fighting future
Arman
Tsarukyan further solidified his case for a long-overdue title
shot with a knockout win over Mauricio
Ruffy at UFC
331. While Gaethje acknowledges that Tsarukyan deserves a shot
at gold, he’s unsure about how long he’ll continue fighting as he
enters the twilight of his career.
“Everyone’s like, ‚You f*cking fight Arman…’ I don’t know what the
f*ck,” Gaethje said on the “Flagrant” podcast. “I have injuries I
have to take care of. I haven’t made a decision – but I am 37 years
old. My first fight was in 2008. I’ve had 40 fights, including my
amateur fights, so I don’t know… I don’t need to [fight
again].”
Gaethje clarified that he isn’t looking to avoid Tsarukyan (24-3).
However, he notes that he has absorbed a lot of damage in his wars
in the interim title win over Paddy
Pimblett in January, followed by the undisputed title victory
over Topuria in June. Gaethje revealed that he still has a serious
bruise in his knee and his hands are too injured to punch with. The
UFC lightweight champion wants to enjoy the rest of the year before
making a decision on his career.
“It’s not that I don’t want to fight Arman; it really isn’t,”
Gaethje added. “He’s the next in line; if and when I defend this
championship, that will be who I fight. I just don’t know. Right
now, I have a deep bruise in my knee. Still can’t punch with my
hand. We’re three months removed from my last fight. I gave a lot
of myself for this fight in January. In June, luckily, I came out
on top, but it cost me a lot, so I need to recover. I need to rest
my brain because a lot of training went into those fights. I’m just
going to enjoy being the champion for the rest of the year. I’m
going to make a business decision and a life decision whenever the
time comes.”