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Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje shared a moment of mutual respect backstage at UFC 269 in Las Vegas.
Oliveira, the UFC lightweight champion, defeated No.1 contender Dustin Poirier via submission with a rear-naked choke. He secured the submission in the third round to successfully defend his title.
He won the vacant belt at UFC 262 in May after beating Michael Chandler via TKO. Ever since, Justin Gaethje has been calling 'Do Bronx' a 'quitter' and the latter proved him otherwise at the T-Mobile Arena.
'The Highlight', who was also in attendance at the arena, paid his respects to the champion following his impressive victory. He said:
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"Cheers, man! That was f*****g awesome, man. Honestly, it was awesome. That was f*****g absolutely beautiful. Nothing but respect. Thank you. Yeah, you deserve it man."
Watch Justin Gaethje in conversation with Charles Oliveira backstage at UFC 269 below:
Justin Gaethje is next in line for a shot at Charles Oliveira's UFC lightweight championship
Last month, Justin Gaethje overcame No.5-ranked lightweight contender Michael Chandler in a barnburner at Madison Square Garden, New York.
The unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) victory at UFC 268 has taken Gaethje one step closer to another title shot.
A few days ago, UFC president Dana White was asked if Gaethje would take on the winner of Oliveira vs. Poirier next on the Jim Rome Podcast and he responded in the affirmative. He said:
"Yup [he is next for the lightweight title fight]. As long as everybody is healthy and everything is good, it should be him."
Here's what Dana White recently said about Justin Gaethje's No.1 contendership in the UFC lightweight division:
Justin Gaethje, who currently holds a 23-3 record in his professional mixed martial arts career, became the interim UFC lightweight champion by defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in May last year.
However, he was unable to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout at UFC 254 in October 2020. 'The Highlight' will be eager to finally get his hands on undisputed lightweight gold.
