Recently, Paddy Pimblett mentioned that most of the top lightweight fighters are in the twilight stages of their careers, and he’s not wrong. As Dustin Poirier is planning to sum up his UFC career, it seems like his former rival, Justin Gaethje, has also planned out his last few outings. Although, the former interim champ didn’t mean it directly, ‘The Highlight’, while signing some posters ahead of his UFC 313 fight, gave somewhat of a hint about it.

Gaethje seemed astonished that he had been featured in several UFC posters during the UFC 313 Embedded: Vlog Series. The media personnel happened to ask if he has a place to put up the UFC 313 poster in his house, to which ‘The Highlight’ responded in the affirmative. But he might have gotten fans worried when he claimed that his house was running out of space for more posters. “I have a spot for like two more right above the couch,” Gaethje stated.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that the former BMF title holder has hinted at possibly hanging up his gloves. When the UFC hit the Sphere last year, many fighters, who weren’t fighting on the card, attended the event to see what the venue has to offer. Justin Gaethje was one of those bunch, who addressed the media prior to the event, where he mentioned the criteria that will depend on his decision to retire.

“Once I know that I cannot win an undisputed championship belt or fight for one, then I might as well hang up the gloves,” Justin Gaethje stated last year. At 36 years old, it won’t be a surprise to see if ‘The Highlight’ has “two more” fights planned should things go south this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena.

Well, retirement talks apart, let’s take a look at the bright side here. Having impressed the fans and the UFC CEO with his performances, Justin Gaethje saw his momentum come to a halt in his last fight. But he is on a mission this weekend and wants to go along the lines that Dustin Poirier did.

Justin Gaethje is looking for a ‘finish’ at UFC 313 to challenge Islam Makhachev

Dustin Poirier lost at UFC 291 and then earned a win back at UFC 299 against Benoit Saint-Denis to find himself fighting for the lightweight title at UFC 302. Gaethje believes a similar thing will happen to him if he can beat Rafael Fiziev again and in a definitive way. Islam Makhachev has already named Gaethje as one of the fighters he wants to defend his title against, and ‘The Highlight’ seems to be pretty sure about his name being ‘considered’ if he can earn a statement win against the Azerbaijani star.

“Timing is everything in this sport. We saw what Dustin Poirier (did), I beat him and then he fought for the belt right after that and I think the timing is gonna line up well,” Justin Gaethje stated in an interview a few days ago. “I go in there and get a finish with an outstanding performance like I always do, I think I’ll be one of the guys that they consider to fight Makhachev.”

Well, Justin Gaethje’s decision could heavily depend on how the rematch against Rafael Fiziev pans out this weekend. Can he replicate his UFC 286 performance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

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