Justin Gaethje raised eyebrows with this assessment of his MSG triumph.
‘The Highlight’ has often lived up to his nickname inside the UFC Octagon, evidenced by his 14 post-fight bonuses in 14 fights under the promotion’s banner.
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Dana White and co. will be hoping for similar fireworks when Gaethje shares the cage with Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 on Saturday night.
The Arizona native will look to make ‘The Baddy’ his latest victim as part of the promotion’s Paramount debut. If he is to achieve that feat, fans can no doubt expect some more excitement from the lightweight brawler en route to doing so in Las Vegas.
Gaethje is not short on memorable wars on his record, but not many come close to his brutal battle in New York City just over four years ago. Although, according to the man himself, maybe they do?
Justin Gaethje reflects on Michael Chandler fight in a surprising way
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
After falling short against Khabib Nurmagomedov in his first attempt at the lightweight title, Justin Gaethje made his return to the Octagon just over a year later.
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He squared off with Michael Chandler on the undercard of Kamaru Usman’s second win over Colby Covington, and together they produced what many consider one of the best fights not only of 2021 but in UFC history.
Gaethje came away with a unanimous decision win after three wild rounds. However, he didn’t view the contest quite as positively as most fans and pundits did.
While fans praised both men for their performance, Gaethje offered a very different take when looking back on that night at Madison Square Garden.
“To be completely honest with you, I felt like that was kind of a boring fight when I was in there,” Gaethje admitted during an interview with TNT Sports.
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“Yeah, it just makes no sense. It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted to win more than to knock somebody out.”
“So, yeah, it was not good. I didn’t like it,” he continued. “I want to go back to just wanting to hurt somebody and finish them.”
Paddy Pimblett eyes war with Justin Gaethje at UFC 324
Justin Gaethje has made a name for himself with his brutal wars inside the Octagon, and Paddy Pimblett wants a taste of that at UFC 324.
However, Pimblett believes he won’t need to go the distance. Instead, he sees himself finishing Gaethje before it turns into a full-blown war against one of the sport’s most entertaining fighters.
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“I’d love to have a scrap with him. In all my years of fighting, including my amateur fights, 35 fights, I’ve never really had a war, so it’d be nice to finally get one with the king of them,” Pimblett told MMA Junkie.
“But I don’t think it’ll get that far. I think I’ll finish him. Once we’re down, he’s not getting back up.”
“I know he’s a very good scrambler, he’s got very good wrestling,” Pimblett continued. “But people underestimate my wrestling and underestimate my scrambling. People think I can’t wrestle, which makes me laugh.”
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