"It's not supposed to be this way" - Chael Sonnen reveals he's "impressed" by Justin Gaethje's toughness after Rafael Fiziev rematch at UFC 313

Justin Gaethje
Justin Gaethje (left) bested Rafael Fiziev (middle) at UFC 313 and Chael Sonnen (right) was quite impressed by Gaethje's toughness [Images courtesy: @ChaelSonnen and @ufc on X]

Justin Gaethje secured yet another bonus inside the octagon, and his fight of the night effort at UFC 313 hugely impressed a former multi-division UFC title challenger. On a recent episode of Good Guy/ Bad Guy, Chael Sonnen was speaking with his co-host Daniel Cormier about Gaethje securing his second win in the UFC cage over Rafael Fiziev.

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'The American Gangster' even went as far as to describe how he felt that Gaethje had the performance of the year so far. Getting into the specifics of his assessment, Sonnen said:

"We don't get better as fighters by doing it. It's not like soccer or baseball or basketball. We leave a little bit of ourselves out there. We digress or we can hope to run sideways but you just don't get better with time. Justin Gaethje is as tough now as he was five years ago."
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"He's as tough now as he was eight, nine, and ten years ago. It's not supposed to be this way. I was so impressed by it. By the way you want to know something else about that guy, he's not just a brawler. He brawls but he's quite a technician."

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Check out Chael Sonnen's thoughts on Justin Gaethje's UFC 313 effort below:

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Justin Gaethje also seemingly impressed Dana White with his UFC 313 effort

Justin Gaethje put on a showcase that garnered positive feedback from many, but Dana White's post-UFC 313 comments might be the most valuable of all for 'The Highlight'. Entering the cage this weekend, Gaethje seemed hopeful that besting Fiziev in their sequel clash would be enough to secure him another crack at the lightweight belt.

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It would seem like the former UFC interim lightweight champion is in the conversation per White's address at the post-fight press conference. When asked by media about the likelihood of the 36-year-old combatant securing another crack at the UFC's lightweight crown, White stated:

"I mean, what's he ranked right now? Fourth or something, right? Third, there you go. He's still the No. 3-ranked guy in the world. So the odds of him getting a title shot are pretty good."
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The Arizona native has previously fought for the lineal lightweight strap on two prior occasions, falling short to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira, respectively. The former BMF champion has returned to the win column after losing that strap to Max Holloway at UFC 300, and the future seems quite bright for Gaethje.

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Edited by Jigyanshushri Mahanta
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