Justin Gaethje teases next fight with hilarious Christmas meme, riling up MMA fans: "I'm fully er**t right now"

Justin Gaethje has not returned to the octagon since April when he suffered a vicious walk-off fifth-round knockout loss to Max Holloway with one second left in the bout at UFC 300. 'The Highlight' recently hinted at his next opponent in response to a fan.

@wonderbondmma took to X on Thursday, tweeting:

"Dear Santa: There’s only one thing I want for Christmas @Justin_Gaethje [United States flag] vs @danthehangman [New Zealand flag]"

Gaethje responded with a meme from the Home Alone film franchise that read:

"Merry Christmas you filthy animal"

Check out the tweet from @wonderbondmma and response from Justin Gaethje below:

Gaethje's response brought out plenty of reactions from mixed martial arts fans. @brax_moore_more shared their excitement for the matchup, stating:

"I'm fully er**t right now"

@Willppp hopes that the matchup is a five-round bout:

"I want this to be a 5 rounder Let’s see a war"

@BSmackemup predicted that Gaethje will get back in the win column after a brutal loss in his last bout:

"LFG. Justin about to get back in the W column 😤 😤"

@Kr1sp_353 sees things going a bit differently, with Dan Hooker getting a vicious finish:

"Dan will do you worse than Holloway"

@knucklemmaa wants the two to clash at UFC 312 in Australia:

"Justin vs hooker for ufc 312 LFG"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

---

Justin Gaethje previously teased timeline for his return

Justin Gaethje has wisely taken time off to recover following his knockout loss at UFC 300. The No.3-ranked lightweight previously revealed a timeline for his return to the octagon while mentioning potential opponents.

Speaking to Helen Yee, 'The Highlight' was asked about a potential rematch with Michael Chandler, responding:

"No, I'm more interested in a rematch with [Charles] Oliveira or [Dustin] Poirier, but I prefer something new. I think me and Poirier would be a great fight if it is his last one... I'm content with the 1-1, hopefully he is. I think Dan Hooker, I don't know if [Alexander] Volkanovski is coming up, I know [Max] Holloway's coming back. I would love that rematch, but yeah being No.3, there's a lot of options. I told them I want to fight in March. So, March, think it's in Vegas. I'll be there."

Check out Justin Gaethje's comments on a potential timeline for his return:

Gaethje would have nearly a full year to recover from his knockout loss to Max Holloway. While he appeared to be next in line for a lightweight title opportunity before accepting the bout, the former BMF champion will look to re-establish himself in the title picture.