Justin Gaethje hopes he will get the chance to problem UFC light-weight champion Islam Makhachev.
Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) will look to re-enter the title image when he takes on Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in a five-round light-weight co-main occasion (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) March 8 at UFC 313 from T-Cellular Enviornment in Las Vegas.
Gaethje, a former interim light-weight champion, fell brief twice in his pursuit for undisputed gold – struggling submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
Makhachev has defended his light-weight title a division-record 4 instances and already holds wins over top-ranked contenders Arman Tsarukyan, Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. Nevertheless, he’s but to combat Gaethje.
“I wish to combat Makhachev, he’s the champ, and I do imagine that he’s a greater matchup for me than Khabib,” Gaethje mentioned throughout a Q&A on his YouTube channel. “However he’s good.”
Though Gaethje was considered one of few fighters to ever win a spherical towards Nurmagomedov, he’s not assured that he might have crushed that model of “The Eagle.”
“I believe Khabib was in all probability the one which I felt even when I carried out higher, I’m undecided that if I might’ve crushed him that night time particularly,” Gaethje mentioned. “That night time that I fought Khabib, I’d say he’s my hardest opponent up to now.”
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