"My leg's a little messed up" - Justin Gaethje 'feels bad' for the people he's kicked after experiencing Michael Chandler's brutal leg kicks

Justin Gaethje has revealed how badly he was hurt after absorbing several leg kicks from Michael Chandler at UFC 268.

In a recent interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Gaethje disclosed that even though he was able to outstrike Chandler, he wasn't spared from taking punishment. 'The Highlight' said:

"My leg's a little messed up. Those kicks are no freaking joke, man. He landed some really heavy, hard kicks in that first round. But yeah, man, it was great. After that first round, he did not touch me many times. I know it looks crazy and his antics... it's crazy the human aspect of human aspect of this in this sport. Him doing all those things is kind of gaining some points and making it look like it's competitive in a way but, you know, two and three were absolute dominant rounds for me. I did not get hit much or take much damage."

Gaethje, who himself utilizes leg kicks regularly, added that he now knows how his opponents feel and even said he feels bad for them. The No.2-ranked UFC lightweight went on:

"Both of our legs are so jacked up for sure, for sure. There's no doubt about it. Mine's getting better day by day but I've never been kicked like this, this consistently in the same spot. I know I've done this to so many people and man, I feel bad for that because it hurts bad."

Check out Justin Gaethje's full interview with ESPN:

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Khabib Nurmagomedov dismisses Justin Gaethje as UFC title challenger

After an impressive performance at UFC 268, Justin Gaethje appears to be next in line to fight the winner of UFC 269's main event wherein lightweight champion Charles Oliveira takes on Dustin Poirier. However, a segment of fans believe Islam Makhachev deserves the title shot over Gaethje.

Unsurprisingly, Khabib Nurmagomedov is among those campaigning for Makhachev as the top contender. 'The Eagle' cited his teammate's eight-fight winning streak and Geathje's recent title loss as justifications for Makhachev having dibs on the title shot.

Meanwhile, Gaethje is adamant that Makhachev doesn't have enough quality wins to justify a title shot at this stage of his career. The Dagestani last saw action at UFC 267, dismantling Dan Hooker in the first round to move further up the rankings.