Justin Gaethje

State of the UFC’s lightweight division entering 2021

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As we close out 2020, the UFC‘s lightweight division is in limbo. The reason is that the undisputed champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0), said after his last fight that he was walking away from competition.

Khabib choked out Justin Gaethje (22-3) at UFC 254 to successfully defend his title. While in most cases the UFC would just move on and book a title fight for the vacant title, Dana White has said that he’s going to try to convince Khabib to compete again. 

Originally, Khabib wanted to retire at 30-0. However, after his father passed away this year, the UFC lightweight champion promised his mother that his fight against Justin Gaethje would be his last fight.

As of now, we still don’t know what’s going to happen. Nurmagomedov came out this week and said he believed that his title could be up for grabs at UFC 257. The main event of that card features the rematch between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC).

State of the UFC’s lightweight division

If we do get confirmation that Khabib is no longer going to fight, it would make sense that McGregor and Poirier fight for the UFC title. The promotion wanted McGregor to fight for the title in 2020. Poirier is the former interim champion and deserves another shot.

It’s a fluid situation, but I think there’s a good chance we see some form of UFC title fight happen at 257. Although not officially announced, the co-main event that night is also a big fight for the lightweight division.

The UFC‘s prized signing of 2020, Michael Chandler (21-5), is expected to make his promotional debut. We found out last week that it appears he will be taking on Dan Hooker (20-9) in the co-headliner.

Again, that’s not confirmed. Whoever wins that matchup will be right at the top of the division alongside Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC). Oliveira announced his status as a top contender at UFC 256.

A few weeks ago, Oliveira completely dominated Tony Ferguson (25-5). The fight was incredibly one-sided and Oliveira should be in the conversations for a title eliminator after that performance.

2020 was a rough year for Ferguson who lost in dominant fashions to both Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. Ferguson was the boogey man of the lightweight division for so many years. However, he took a major step back in 2020.

There’s a reason why the lightweight division has been the best in the UFC for some time. It’s a murderers row of contenders and with Khabib stepping away, the division is up for grabs. Should be a very fun 2021 in that division.

After dominating Tony Ferguson at UFC 256, what’s next for Charles Oliveira?

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This past Saturday evening in the co-main event of UFC 256, Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) took on Tony Ferguson (25-5). Ferguson was looking to bounce back after his last loss while Oliveira was looking to continue his winning streak.

Heading into UFC 256, Oliveira had won seven fights in a row. However, it was the way he won those seven fights which stood out. Oliveira had finished all seven of his opponents leading into UFC 256.

Saturday night was the biggest test in the career of Charles Oliveira. With Oliveira, the questions never surrounded his talent. However, there had been times in his career where he came up short in the big fights.

Granted, a majority of those opportunities happened at featherweight. Oliveira is no longer depleting himself to make 145 pounds. Fighting at lightweight has really allowed Charles Oliveira to reach his prime inside the octagon.

That really showed at UFC 256. Oliveira completely dominated the former interim lightweight champion and nearly finished him in the first round. With the dominant victory, Oliveira made a huge leap in the rankings. 

What’s next after UFC 256?

With his victory at UFC 256, Oliveira went from seventh to third in the lightweight division. The only contenders ranked ahead of him at the moment are Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

Poirier is scheduled to face Conor McGregor at UFC 257. Justin Gaethje is being rumored to face Michael Chandler in the co-main event of that card. Conventional wisdom said the winners of those two fights would face off for the title if Khabib Nurmagomedov stays retired.

If that happens, what’s next for Charles Oliveira? This is a tough question to answer at the moment. On one hand, Oliveira definitely deserves to be in the conversation for the next UFC title shot.

However, if the promotion goes with this four man style tournament, that leaves Oliveira as the odd man out. For the sake of this article, let’s say that the promotion books those four men up at UFC 257.

If the winners come out unscathed, I could see the UFC giving Oliveira the loser of one of the fights. However, if one of the winners is going to be out for some time, the promotion could give Oliveira a title shot against the other winner.

There are a few options for the promotion and their third ranked lightweight. I think no matter what, Oliveira will either be fighting for the title in his next fight or he will be fighting in a title eliminator.

UFC: Michael Chandler is in camp, but who is he fighting?

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Michael Chandler

Earlier this year, the UFC made headlines when they signed top lightweight, Michael Chandler (21-5). Chandler had been a Bellator champion on a number of occasions. He was always considered to be one of the best in the world.

However, with him fighting outside the UFC, there have always been questions on just how good he is. Chandler wanted to prove himself and see for himself just how good he is which is why he took a deal with the UFC.

He recently stated the the UFC was not offering him the most money. However, they provided the best competition which is what meant the most to Chandler. Originally, Chandler was supposed to make his debut at UFC 254 against either Tony Ferguson or Dustin Poirier.

The UFC tried to make a fight between Ferguson and Poirier, but after that fell through, they tried booking either against Chandler. A fight never materialized between Chandler and either of those top contenders.

Instead, Chandler still flew out to Fight Island, but as the backup for the UFC 254 main event. Chandler said it was his way of showing the UFC and the world that he is willing to take anything that they throw at him.

Recently, Chandler posted on Instagram that he was starting up his fight camp. He has aspirations to fight on the UFC 257 card which features the rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. So, who is Chandler training for?

Chandler at UFC 257?

Based on Michael Chandler being in camp, the safe assumption is that the plan is for Chandler to fight in January. With that in mind, there are a couple of potential opponents for Chandler to face at UFC 257.

The front-runner in my opinion is Justin Gaethje (22-3). Gaethje is the top ranked lightweight in the UFC and the former interim champion. Gaethje said he needs to get a win before fighting for the title again, and Chandler needs an opponent.

Chandler has openly expressed his desire to fight Justin Gaethje. Another opportunity would be Dan Hooker (20-9). Hooker is currently ranked fifth in the division and he said that he wanted to send Chandler back to the B-Leagues.

The UFC could also turnaround either Tony Ferguson or Charles Oliveira if one of them wins without taking too much damage this weekend. No matter what, Chandler’s first opponent will be a top five lightweight. We should know sooner than later who that opponent is.

UFC: Justin Gaethje says he needs a win before another title shot

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There might not be many in the business more likeable than Justin Gaethje (22-3). The former interim UFC lightweight champion just tells it like it is and he’s never afraid to be brutally honest even at his own expense.

We haven’t seen or heard much from Gaethje since his failed attempt to capture undisputed gold at UFC 254. That night, Gaethje took on Khabib Nurmagomedov. Gaethje was looked at as the most dangerous challenger to Khabib’s reign.

However, Khabib continued to show just how special he is dominating the fight and submitting Gaethje in the second round. Now, the former interim champion is ready to get back on the horse to try to capture UFC gold.

In an interview with The Schmo, Gaethje talked about what he wants to do next. “McGregor and Poirier are fighting soon, I would love to fight the winner of that. I wholeheartedly believe that you should be coming off a win to fight for a belt. So my job now is to get a win,” Gaethje said.

The Schmo followed up asking if Gaethje wants to wait for the winner of that fight. Gaethje replied, “I want to fight for the belt. If it’s the winner of that fight (who will be fighting for a belt), then in turn, I would have to beat somebody first.”

What’s the UFC’s plan for Gaethje?

You have to love the honesty from Justin Gaethje. He’s not sitting there demanding a UFC title shot despite the fact that he’s the top ranked lightweight in the division. He truly believes he has to win again before fighting for the belt.

So what should the UFC do with Gaethje? I think there are two very clear options for the promotion and Gaethje. I think the top option is for Gaethje to face Michael Chandler in January at UFC 257 as the co-main event.

Chandler has said he’s already in training camp and wants to fight on the McGregor – Poirier card. If the UFC pairs Gaethje with Chandler that night, you can see a little lightweight tournament forming for the championship.

The other option for Gaethje would be Dan Hooker. Hooker has expressed interest in fighting Gaethje and Hooker is also a top ranked lightweight. I think this should be the secondary option, but it’s another good one.

What we do know is that Gaethje wants to fight and win again before getting his next UFC title shot. I think we will get some clarity on the Justin Gaethje front sooner than later. I expect him to have a fight in January or February.

UFC Matchmaker: Justin Gaethje – Michael Chandler

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There is so much movement and so many exciting things happening in the UFC‘s lightweight division. Just this past week, we saw the Conor McGregor – Dustin Poirier rematch made official and Tony Ferguson will be fighting Charles Oliveira. 

Both of those are insane matchups for fight fans. That being said, there are even more exciting matchups on the horizon for the UFC‘s lightweight division. The biggest MMA signing in 2020 had to be Michael Chandler signing with the UFC.

The former three time Bellator lightweight champion will finally get the chance to prove himself amongst the elite. However, the promotion has not been able to find Chandler an opponent quite yet.

Chandler was the backup for UFC 254 when Justin Gaethje took on Khabib Nurmagomedov. That night, Nurmagomedov ran through Gaethje to retain his UFC lightweight championship then announced his retirement. Although, his retirement seems to be up in the air.

Justin Gaethje wanted to get right back into the swing of things after the loss. He didn’t take much damage and he was itching to get back into the cage. Gaethje needs an opponent and Michael Chandler still isn’t booked. You see where I’m going with this?

Will the UFC book it?

I think given the current landscape, it makes all the sense in the world to have Justin Gaethje (22-3) fight Michael Chandler (21-5). It’s an excellent stylistic matchup for fans and both guys need a fight.

Chandler was trying to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 257 when McGregor takes on Poirier. However, Ferguson was adamant about fighting in 2020 which is how he landed on the Charles Oliveira fight.

By all accounts, Chandler wants to make his UFC debut in January. Justin Gaethje is wanting to get back into the cage so it makes sense to pair the two. The other option for either man would be Dan Hooker.

Unfortunately for Hooker, he appears to be the odd man out at the moment. Ariel Helwani said yesterday that it appears that Michael Chandler might have an opponent for UFC 257. Hooker has been calling for a fight with Gaethje while we haven’t heard much from the former interim champion.

My guess is that the promotion is moving to book Gaethje – Chandler. In theory, the winner of that fight would fight the winner of the McGregor – Poirier fight sometime next summer. If Khabib is truly done, the winners would face for the undisputed UFC lightweight championship.

In this scenario the two odd men out would be whoever wins between Ferguson – Oliveira and Dan Hooker. Given the timelines, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the UFC book those two against each other sometime in the spring.

UFC: Dana White says that Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight again

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In January, Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) are expected to headline UFC 257. The card will take place on January 23rd and it will be a massive fight for the UFC‘s lightweight division.

Many have been speculating on what will be on the line that night. Will the winner earn a shot at the lightweight championship, or will the winner become the UFC‘s lightweight champion.

The reason that there’s questions is due to current champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0). Nurmagomedov stormed through Justin Gaethje last month at UFC 254 to successfully defend his lightweight crown.

After the fight was over, Khabib laid his gloves in the center of the cage and said that he was retiring. However, UFC President, Dana White, has been saying recently that he doesn’t think Nurmagomedov might be retiring.

With Nurmagomedov retired, it would make sense for the UFC to put up the lightweight title for the McGregor – Poirier fight. However, last night, Dana White doubled down and said that there would be no title on the line on January 23rd.

UFC’s Lightweight Situation

When asked about the title and the January PPV, White told the media, “No. Khabib’s gonna fight. I believe he’s gonna fight. It’s (UFC 257) not for the title.” White shut down the notion that McGregor and Poirier would determine the lightweight champion.

If that holds true, there are a lot of questions surrounding what will happen with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov’s father, who passed away this year, wanted him to retire at 30-0. However, his father had one fight in mind for that final fight.

It’s been said that Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov wanted Khabib to fight Georges St. Pierre in his final fight. A fight between those two could determine who is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

The former two-division world champion, GSP, has said that he is interested in fighting Khabib. There is so much respect there, but this would be a legacy matchup for both men.

If I had to guess, I think we are going to see the following situation play out. McGregor and Poirier will fight in January with Michael Chandler facing Tony Ferguson in the co-main event of the evening.

The winner of those two fights will fight each other. While that mini tournament is going on, Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight Georges St. Pierre at lightweight to determine the greatest fighter of all time.

Either Khabib will retire at 30-0 or GSP will become the first fighter in history to have captured titles in three weight classes. A very fluid but fun situation in the UFC‘s lightweight division at the moment.

UFC: Could Justin Gaethje replace Dustin Poirier against Conor McGregor?

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Dana White said last week that the UFC fight between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) was done. However, shortly after that statement we learned that the contracts hadn’t been signed yet for the matchup in January.

In fact, Dustin Poirier tweeted out at the UFC to stop playing games. It appears that the holdup in the fight getting finalized is once again with The Diamond. If you recall, Dustin Poirier was originally supposed to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 254.

However, the fight was called off after the UFC and Poirier failed to agree on financial terms. The promotion also tried to make a fight with Poirier against Michael Chandler, however, Poirier said that the offer was a slap in the face to him. 

McGregor and Poirier originally agreed to fight for charity on Twitter. However, the UFC turned around and worked on getting an actual fight between the two men finalized. It appeared that the official announcement was imminent.

However, we have hit another speedbump. Ariel Helwani reported yesterday that Poirier and the UFC remain apart in their financial negotiations. However, the promotion has a card to play in their back pocket which could force Poirier’s hand. That card is former interim champion, Justin Gaethje (22-3).

Will the UFC make the switch?

Justin Gaethje is just itching to get back into the octagon after his last performance. Gaethje was choked out by Khabib Nurmagomedov in their undisputed title match last month. However, Gaethje said he wanted to immediately get back into the cage.

A fight with McGregor in January would sure fit his timeline. In my opinion this will all come down to what Conor McGregor wants. If McGregor is adamant about fighting Dustin Poirier, I think the UFC will ultimately cave a little to make the fight happen.

However, if McGregor takes the stand that he doesn’t care who it is, I think it becomes 50/50. Gaethje and McGregor have some heat between them which could make for a very fun matchup. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Time will tell on who The Notorious one will face in January.

UFC: Dana White thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov will try to go for 30-0

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This past Saturday at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje to retain his lightweight championship of the world. It was an emotional ending for Nurmagomedov who fought for the first time since his father had passed away.

Following the fight, Nurmagomedov laid his gloves in the middle of the octagon and announced his retirement. Many in the UFC community were not expecting this to happen. Nurmagomedov’s father’s dream had been for him to go 30-0 then retire.

However, Khabib said that he promised his mother that UFC 254 would be his last fight. Just a few days later, and we are hearing that he might not be done. Since the announcement, UFC President Dana White has had a chance to talk with Nurmagomedov.

White seems to think Khabib might have been in the moment. He told CBS Sports Zach Gelb, “Khabib and I have been talking. He was completely emotional that night when he got through that fight. I have a feeling that he might go for 30-0.”

The UFC’s options for Khabib

There are a few options for the UFC when it comes to Khabib Nurmagomedov and his 30th fight. However, I think that there is one clear fight for him to cap off his career and his legacy. That would be a fight with Georges St. Pierre.

GSP is known as arguably the greatest of all time. He was a dominant champion in the welterweight division, then he moved up to capture the UFC middleweight title. He’s always been interested in coming out of retirement for the Nurmagomedov fight.

GSP recently told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that he was happy for Khabib after the retirement. However, he said that his door would be open if Khabib was interested in coming back and facing him. That could very well be the case if what White’s saying comes true.

Of course, the UFC could always try to book the Conor McGregor rematch. However, Khabib has already won that war in his eyes. A fight with GSP would be a legacy fight for both men and a very rare opportunity for fight fans around the globe to see arguably the two greatest of all time go head to head.

UFC 254 drastically underperforms PPV expectations

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Last Saturday at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) defeated Justin Gaethje (22-3) to retain his lightweight championship. The fight was one of the more anticipated matchups of the year, and was being built as arguably the biggest fight of the year.

The week prior to the fight, Dana White talked about how the fight was trending. He pointed to the star power of the lightweight champion, Nurmagomedov. The expectation was that this card would do massively well for the promotion on PPV.

In fact, White mentioned that the fight was trending higher than Nurmagomedov – McGregor. The grudge match between those two that came back at UFC 229 was the highest PPV buy rate the UFC has ever seen hitting 2.4 million buys.

However, the numbers have come in, and they are significantly lower than UFC 229. In fact, they are significantly lower than even the highest PPV buy rate from 2020. Per the Sports Business-Journal, UFC 254 only hit 675,000 PPV buys worldwide.

Was UFC 254 a disappointment?

At 675,000 buys, UFC 254 ranks as the fifth most watched UFC PPV this year. This card was behind UFC 251, UFC 249, UFC 253, and UFC 246. Those cards all had star power like Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, and Israel Adesanya.

The only card that didn’t have massive star power was 249, but that was the first event that the promotion held after the shutdown. That number was expected to be massively high. Nevertheless, last Saturday night was a disappointing result for the promotion.

Now there were a couple of things that could have hurt the PPV. For one, the card started at 2 PM ET which is eight hours earlier than normal. They did this to put Nurmagomedov in primetime for the fans in the middle east.

However, Nurmagomedov’s last fight in Abu Dhabi was estimated to have done about one million buys. I have to say, I’m pretty shocked myself. Given the magnitude of the fight, I was expecting it to be close to one million when it came to PPV buys.

I knew it wasn’t going to touch McGregor – Nurmagomedov. That was a pipedream for the promotion. However, the result might tell you that Nurmagomedov is not as big of a star as the promotion would have you believe. Either way, definitely a disappointment for the promotion on Saturday.

Could the UFC do a lightweight tournament?

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UFC, Dana White

This past weekend at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje to retain his lightweight championship. After the fight was over, Khabib laid his gloves in the center of the octagon and said that he had fought his final fight in the UFC.

With that, the UFC‘s lightweight division has just been blown open. Nobody really knows what the promotion is going to do with the lightweight title now that Khabib Nurmagomedov is walking away from the sport.

Michael Chandler was in attendance because he was the backup fighter. Chandler had a suggestion for the UFC and that was to put on a lightweight tournament for the vacant title. The UFC hasn’t put on tournaments since the early days.

Well, I guess there was the flyweight tournament back in 2012. However, that was to crown a new champion in a new division. Chandler’s idea is definitely interesting for the promotion. I could also see the promotion making the Conor McGregor – Dustin Poirier fight for the title.

McGregor is the last undisputed lightweight champion not named Khabib Nurmagomedov. Meanwhile Poirier is the former UFC interim lightweight champion and he knocked out Justin Gaethje who was the interim champion entering UFC 254.

What will the UFC do?

There are a lot of people who want to see Justin Gaethje right back in a title fight. However, I don’t think the UFC is going to do that. The McGregor – Poirier fight just makes too much sense for the vacant lightweight championship.

I think you’ll see the UFC look to book Michael Chandler against Tony Ferguson. I think they really want to make that fight, and it would be a fun matchup for fans. They could then make a fight between Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker.

The winners of those two fights could then face off for a chance to fight the winner of the McGregor – Poirier fight. The UFC is planning on McGregor – Poirier in January, and I bet the winner likely wouldn’t defend the title until the July PPV.

That would give the promotion time in the middle to have the winners face each other. So in a sense, it would be like a tournament. However, it would be a tournament to face the champion which will be decided in January.

I don’t know what the UFC will do and frankly they probably won’t do that. However, I think this would be a good way to get everyone matched up. The McGregor – Poirier fight is already almost done, why not up the stakes and make it even bigger by throwing the title on the line?