Justin Gaethje has zero regrets about how UFC 300 ended.
Final April, Gaethje put his “BMF” title on the road towards Max Holloway at UFC 300, and issues didn’t go his method. After 24 minutes and 50 seconds of back-and-forth motion, Holloway pointed to the bottom and beckoned Gaethje to satisfy him within the center for the ultimate 10 seconds; “The Spotlight” obliged and wound up on the receiving finish of maybe the best spotlight in UFC historical past—Holloway’s iconic last-second knockout that received KO of the Year honors.
It’s dangerous sufficient to endure a knockout loss that lives ceaselessly, however issues solely acquired worse for Gaethje after a clip went viral displaying the previous interim light-weight champion twitching while unconscious. However Gaethje has no disgrace about that clip, nor regrets about his decisions in that struggle towards Holloway.
“I’m glad I noticed it,” Gaethje instructed reporters on the UFC 313 Media Day. “From what I noticed, I used to be attempting to stand up and struggle. It’s simply what I do. I select ‘struggle’ as an alternative of ‘flight’ each single time, and that’s what I anticipate from myself: to attempt to stand up.”
Gaethje was unable to stand up and struggle once more at UFC 300, however now he has an opportunity to place that loss behind him on Saturday when he returns to the octagon for a rematch towards Rafael Fiziev within the co-main occasion of UFC 313. Gaethje was initially set to face Dan Hooker in a highly-anticipated struggle, however when Hooker withdrew on account of a hand damage, Fiziev stepped in on brief discover.
It’s a troublesome change of opponent for Gaethje, who beat Fiziev by majority determination when the 2 confronted off in 2023, however 36-year-old light-weight says he by no means as soon as hesitated about taking the struggle this weekend.
“I like combating. I acquired my ass knocked out final struggle and I’m dying to get again in there and get that again,” Gaethje mentioned. “On the finish of the day, all these guys are very, very harmful. We went by means of our choices; I wished [Arman] Tsarukyan or [Charles] Oliveira, but when I used to be them, I’d by no means take the struggle and I don’t blame them for that. [Renato] Moicano piped up after which didn’t take the struggle. That was my best choice. After which it was simply not struggle, and I’ve been working so onerous, that actually wasn’t an possibility for me. …
“I’m grateful for [Fiziev]. He was midway — most likely greater than midway the world over, nevertheless huge the world is. He took the struggle. He came visiting right here. I applaud him for that. I like to carry out and I used to be able to carry out. I used to be attempting to make it occur.”
Considered two of probably the most thrilling fighters within the light-weight division, Gaethje and Fiziev’s first struggle earned Combat of the Evening honors and was on the shortlist for Combat of the Yr for 2023. Because of this, each fighters acknowledge that one other conflict is probably going forward of them on Saturday, and regardless of how issues turned out for him at UFC 300, Gaethje insists he’s nonetheless simply as prepared to satisfy Fiziev within the heart of the octagon and slug it out if his opponent replicates Holloway’s well-known callout.
“In case you’ve ever seen me struggle, you recognize I’ll settle for that problem each single time,” Gaethje mentioned. “When [Holloway] pointed on the floor I mentioned sure and ran to the center. So completely.”
