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Justin Gaethje Fires Off at Dana White & Co. for Refusing Him the Islam Makhachev Fight

Published 02/16/2024, 11:26 PM EST

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Justin Gaethje is up to fight Max Holloway next at UFC 300. The BMF belt title fight might be the next on his list but it’s certainly not the final spot he’s looking to claim in the division. For long, a fight between him and reigning lightweight champ, Islam Makhachev has been anticipated.

Makhachev and Gaethje have been going back and forth calling one another out in hopes of getting the title fight. However, things took an odd turn at UFC 294 where Charles Oliveira dropped out of the fight just for Alexander Volkanovski to get the title shot fight at short notice instead. Now, Gaethje has a vision in mind and a timeline. But will Dana White be on the same page?

Justin Gaethje could have fought earlier

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Justin Gaethje shares the UFC 300 card with fellow lightweight and former champion Charles Oliveira. At the very recent UFC 300 Q/A session, ‘The Highlight’ told the press that he was excited about the card because it would give the division two contenders for the belt.

This could put him on the perfect track towards a title fight with Makhachev next. However, it still didn’t make much sense to him why a fight hadn’t happened already. The two have been ready for each other for a long now. Perhaps, soon, there could be a bout.

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“Like in, all four of us have a chance to stand out.” He said about the UFC 300 card. “There’s gonna be two clear contenders. And I will, you know, be one of those (to) come out. Whether it’s June, October, I will be ready to fight Islam Makhachev. He’s been calling me out, I’m not sure why that’s not happening but I gotta fight Max Holloway now, my life does not exist after April 13th at this point.”

Clearly, the fighter is currently trying to focus on defending his BMF title as of right now. Holloway seems to have abandoned his run to become the featherweight champion again after being defeated by ‘The Great’ multiple times. This includes the first time the belt was taken and then two title defenses. At UFC 298, we’ll see him defend the title yet again. But should Gaethje be worried about ‘Volk’?

Alexander Volkanovski, how big of a threat is he?

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Alexander Volkanovski has shown readiness to go to war once again at UFC 300. That would mean not even having more than two months of being in camp after his next title defense. ‘The Great’ is still ready to go and chase after his dream of being champ-champ.

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His desire to be the lightweight champion has previously been a roadblock for other contenders in the lightweight division. But the thought of the two going at it has always been exciting for the fans. If Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev agree to fight at UFC 300, what happens next?

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That would mean having three big lightweight fights on the same card. And sooner or later, Volkanovski is going to challenge the champion. Will the belt have changed hands by then? There’s no way to tell. But Justin Gaethje would sure want to hope that ‘The Great’ doesn’t swoop in to steal yet another title shot away.

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Written by:

Prit Chauhan

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Prit Chauhan is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. His portfolio shows him as the go-to event coverage writer at ES and his work on UFC 297 is proof of the same. As an experienced writer and a longtime MMA fan, Prit’s strong suit lies in telling the relatively unknown and more personal stories of fights and fighters.
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Edited by:

Joyita Das