Justin Gaethje: I'll Decide on My Next Fight by Year's End
UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje shared his timeline for deciding his next fight.
Following his title win at UFC 250, Gaethje's future is a topic of discussion. Having competed in MMA since 2008 and with 40 professional and amateur fights, retirement is a possibility. However, as the current champion, his next move is highly anticipated.
Gaethje has consistently been an underdog but now finds himself as the target for contenders like Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria.
"Everyone's like, 'You f*cking fight Arman,'" Gaethje stated on the "Flagrant Podcast." "I don’t know what the f*ck – 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."
"It’s not that I don’t want to fight Arman, it really isn’t," Gaethje continued. "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.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie.
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