Justin Gaethje thinks Michael Chandler will not be as aggressive as he claims during their lightweight encounter at UFC 268. According to 'The Highlight', once he starts landing shots on the former Bellator champion, he'll look to bring his wrestling game into play.
In the latest episode of UFC Unfiltered, Justin Gaethje weighed in on how his upcoming fight with Chandler is likely to play out. Chandler recently said that he'll come out all guns blazing in the fight and claimed that the first man to take a step back will be a "timid soul".
In response, Gaethje said when he starts landing his signature leg kicks, Chandler will be the timid soul and try to shoot for his legs. Although he rates Chandler highly as a fighter, Gaethje believes 'Iron' is a good matchup for him stylistically.
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"He's kind of proven that he belongs here...This is a huge fight, this is a dangerous fight. he's super explosive, you know, athletic, he's dangerous but I think it's a great matchup for me at the end of the day. I think stylistically we see so many different types of fights, I think this is a great fight. You know he says the first one to take a step back is a timid soul. There's not one thing he can say that can affect my approach to this fight...Where you are going to see a timid soul is when I start kicking him and he's going to shoot for the legs, trying to wrestle and that will be his definition of a b**ch, 100%," Justin Gaethje said.
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Justin Gaethje believes he and Dustin Poirier should have fought for the lightweight title following Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement
Justin Gaethje recently said that following Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement, the UFC lightweight division has turned into a laughing stock. 'The Highlight' was also unhappy when the promotion booked a matchup between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC title. According to Gaethje, it should have been him and Dustin Poirier fighting for the title instead:
"I thought this was the most coveted title in the UFC when Khabib was around, and it turned into almost the laughing stock of the UFC overnight. When you have Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler fighting each other for the title, to be the best. Those two weren’t best. It was me and Poirier. That should have happened,” Justin Gaethje told ESPN.