Justin Gaethje has emerged as one of the biggest fan-favorites in the UFC due to his exciting fighting style. As a fan of the sport, Gaethje recently revealed his favorite fighters to watch.
In a video uploaded to the UFC's YouTube channel, Gaethje named his top five fighters to watch. Francis Ngannou and Robert Whittaker featured at the top of his list. The former lightweight title challenger revealed:
"My favorite fighters to watch as a fan... I mean, I like watching – other than when he fought Derrick Lewis, but I've definitely forgiven him for that – so Francis Ngannou, number one. I like watching Robert Whittaker."
Evidently, 'The Highlight' is partial to his fellow knockout specialists as he named the reigning heavyweight champ his favorite. However, Gaethje mentioned the only time he was bored by Ngannou was during his clash against Derrick Lewis at UFC 226.
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Rounding out his list, Gaethje revealed that he also enjoyed watching former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko and strawweight champ Rose Namajunas. Gaethje and Namajunas, of course, are close friends. They are both students of coaching extraordinaire Trevor Wittman.
Watch Justin Gaethje reveal his favorite fighters to watch:
Justin Gaethje believes Michael Chandler is afraid to strike with him
Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler will lock horns in what's expected to be a surefire battle between two of the most explosive strikers in the UFC. Gaethje believes Chandler will try to wrestle him after feeling his punching power. In a recent interview with The Schmo, Gaethje said:
“The dude comes to fight. He loves fighting just as much as me. Styles make matchups, and this is a stylistic matchup for the fans. Someone’s going to get knocked out – unless he turns into a b*tch and tries to turn this into a wrestling match the whole time. He’s talking about timid souls taking a step backwards. He’s going to be a timid soul when he starts shooting for legs because he doesn’t like the power. That’s what I think.”
Gaethje and Chandler are both coming off losses in a lightweight title fight. 'The Highlight' was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in 2020, while Chandler suffered a TKO loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 earlier this year.