What eye surgery did Justin Gaethje have?

Justin "The Highlight" Gaethje is a 36-year-old mixed martial artist competing in the lightweight division (155 lb) of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Kicking off his mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 2011, Gaethje has compiled a record of 25 wins and five losses as of March 7, 2025. Known for his ruthless fighting style, Gaethje has won 20 times via knockout, once by submission, and five times by decision.

"The Highlight" entered the UFC on July 7, 2017, in a clash against Michael Johnson, outclassing him by a technical second-round KO and earning two bonuses (Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night). The Arizonan clinched the interim UFC Lightweight Championship on May 9, 2020, via TKO against Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson at UFC 249. Unfortunately, he lost the title unification bout against Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 on October 24, 2020. As of March 7, 2025, Gaethje sits at #3 in the lightweight division of the UFC, and his next outing is a three-round rematch against Rafael "Altman" Fiziev in the co-main event of UFC 313.

Justin Gaethje Eye Surgery

Justin Gaethje had a photorefractive keratectomy in 2016 to fix his vision. Gaethje, one of UFC's most intimidating fighters, used to have severe vision problems that threatened to end his career. Before his UFC 300 fight against Max Holloway, Gaethje revealed that he had so bad a vision in his early career that he had to have physical contact with his opponents to find them.

Ex-UFC competitor Dan Hardy revealed in 2020 that before his laser eye surgery, Gaethje depended on feeling to know where to hit. He wore glasses at press events throughout his early days in the UFC. Yet, after having surgery, his vision was 20/20, improving his depth perception, distance perception, and ability to read people's facial expressions.

Also Read: Justin Gaethje's Nickname