Justin Gaethje entered UFC 324’s main event as an underdog, given his age and weakness against grapplers. However, he defeated rising lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett, who had remained undefeated under Dana White & Co. While many praised the fight, Gaethje kept Pimblett to the fence with his pressure and aggressive fighting style. Now, a week later, Gaethje shared more insight into his strategy.

While undisputed champion Ilia Topuria is on a short break, Justin Gaethje now positions himself as the most natural contender for a title unification bout. Even after Topuria returns, Gaethje’s commanding performance cements his standing at the top of the division. The American star revealed that his win at UFC 324 came not just from his punching combinations, but also from his careful last-minute adjustments to his game plan.

Justin Gaethje’s experience outshines Paddy Pimblett’s hype

“I can make adjustments, and I won that battle early, you know. I moved forward a week ago, and that completely dictated how that fight was going to go early on. Me not kicking was f–king genius, genius, yeah. You know, that was in our plan: not to kick,” said Justin Gaethje on his YouTube channel.

From the opening bell, the Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett fight proved intense, with ‘The Highlight’ landing heavy strikes that kept ‘the Baddy’ on the back foot. At the same time, Pimblett threw punches and powerful low kicks, but surprisingly, those kicks played into Gaethje’s hands.

By absorbing strikes strategically in the early rounds, Gaethje kept his adrenaline high and closed the distance effectively, which neutralized Paddy Pimblett’s kicking game and blocked easy takedowns.

“And it might have worked, but I’m not gonna give him easy takedowns. You know, it made him kick so much, and once I felt that these were kicks I could take for 25 minutes with the adrenaline in my body, I was able to commit to closing the distance on his kicks. And that, it was f–king genius,” Gaethje added.

As the fight progressed, Paddy Pimblett’s constant kicking wore him down physically and mentally. Moreover, the stress on his bones and joints increased because he extended his leg without proper hip rotation, which reduced the power of his strikes.

Consequently, he lost some of his own strength and could not generate enough “leverage” to cause serious damage unless Justin Gaethje made a mistake. Now that the fight is wrapped, Gaethje also breaks down his take on the Briton’s mindset heading into the bout.

Gaethje points to Pimblett’s “false confidence” for UFC 324 loss

Heading into the fight, Paddy Pimblett, true to his signature style, used trash talk to capture the division’s attention. From the start, he targeted fighters from Ilia Topuria to Arman Tsarukyan to Dustin Poirier and did not hold back. Before stepping into the Octagon, he even crowned himself as the champion.

However, Justin Gaethje quickly handed Pimblett a harsh reality. Until this matchup, Pimblett had never faced elite competition like Gaethje, and many of his past victories came against washed-up or lower-tier opponents. As a result, UFC 324 exposed the weaknesses in Pimblett’s game plan, and ‘The Highlight’ highlighted them during the post-fight conference.

“You have to learn these lessons. But again, his mindset going into that fight was not good. You cannot do that. You cannot approach this sport like that. False confidence is terrible. Terrible. It’ll kill you every time, and that’s what he had,” Justin Gaethje said at the post-fight conference.

What’s your take on Paddy Pimblett’s future in the division? Will his path to the title be smooth, or does he still need more experience? Share your thoughts below.