Justin Gaethje has never been the type to stay quiet when he feels overlooked. Following his victory over Rafael Fiziev—his third win in four fights—“The Highlight” made it clear that he’s losing patience with the UFC’s matchmaking.
Gaethje remains one of the most exciting fighters in the promotion. He’s a consistent presence in the top rankings and has already challenged for the UFC lightweight title twice. Despite falling short in those attempts, he believes he’s done enough to warrant another crack at the belt. However, with title talks heating up and fresh faces getting pushed ahead of him, Gaethje doesn’t see a clear path forward.
“Absolutely not,” Gaethje told ESPN, when asked about fighting Paddy Pimblett. “If that’s the route that they want me to take, then I don’t believe that they need me anymore. I know that sounds petty or whatever, but I’m No. 3. I’m 3-1 in my last four. The champion was calling to fight me. They vacated. They bring a new guy in and they give a guy that’s 2-2 the fight.”
The fight has constantly advocated for a merit-based structure, but recent matchmaking has left him questioning whether that principle still applies.
“So if their algorithm and their math tells them just to use me until I get beat, then I’m going to have to really reevaluate what I’m doing here because I signed up for a merit-based system. I have lived by that and if they want to give Arman the fight,which Arman shit the bed, had the fight, I had the fight, but I took another fight for them. He had the fight, but pulled out because his back hurt. Those are two different scenarios. For me to get put in the same position as him, and have to fight for my spot, then no, I’m going to be upset about that.”
Gaethje had been vocal about wanting a shot at Islam Makhachev, who has since moved up to welterweight, leaving the lightweight title vacant. Former featherweight king Ilia Topuria stepped in and seized the opportunity at UFC 317, flattening Charles Oliveira and setting himself up as the division’s new champ.
However, instead of Gaethje, it was Paddy Pimblett who was invited into the cage for a faceoff with Topuria, an impromptu move orchestrated by Joe Rogan. Dana White later clarified that Pimblett wasn’t authorized to confront the champion but the deed had already been done and Gaethje didn’t appreciate being part of the background.
“I knew that it was a mistake, I knew that it wasn’t the UFC’s doing, I knew it was kind of just what was happening because of the environment with Joe calling him in,” Gaethje said. “I was obviously upset. My nephew was there with me, I walked out with both of my fingers in the air. At first, while [Topuria] was doing his interview, they were trying to put me and Arman in camera frame together because I was trying to exit, he was right behind me, and they were filming him and I kept moving to get out of the way so they could film him and they kept readjusting and putting me in frame.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ He’s pointing at both of us two saying he was trying to get us in a frame together. So as Paddy and him are in there, they’re trying to put me and Arman in a frame and I was like, ‘Fck you. Get that fcking camera away from me. You fcking wish that you were going to do this right now. Go fck yourself.’”
The frustration isn’t just about who gets what fight. It’s about the feeling of being used as a stepping stone while others get fast-tracked. Gaethje might be toying with the idea of retirement, but he’s not giving up yet.
“I don’t even want to entertain that conversation because like I said, I have all the desire to compete,” Gaethje said. “If I felt that in any way, then I would be done here. I just want to, obviously, from a biased perspective, be recognized as the most consistent and one of the top guys in the world. I did what I did. How many more fights do I have to, if I fight fights where if they win they get a championship and then I win and it’s still I’m maybe going to have to fight someone else, this is not the situation that I wanted to get myself in and this is the situation I’m going to keep myself from. And that’s where we’re at.”
Justin Gaethje isn’t begging for a title shot but demanding respect and reminding everyone why his name still rings loud in the lightweight division.
