Stoked for UFC 269, Justin Gaethje sees upside to fighting Charles Oliveira or Dustin Poirier for title
LAS VEGAS – There might not be another person on the planet who’s more interested in what happens in the UFC 269 main event than Justin Gaethje.
With UFC president Dana White already stating that Gaethje “should be” next in line for a lightweight title shot, you can be sure that he’s fraught with anticipation before tonight’s fight between champion Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier.
“As a fan, I’m excited to watch it,” Gaethje told MMA Junkie on Friday on the World MMA Awards red carpet. “The more I think about it, the more I cannot put my finger on it, what’s gonna happen. That’s why it’s so interesting. That’s why I wanna be in the building. Dana said I get the next shot, so I wanna show my face as much as I can around this weekend.”
Gaethje (23-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will sit cageside tonight to closely watch Oliveira (31-8 MMA, 19-8 UFC) and Poirier (28-6 MMA, 20-5 UFC) do battle at T-Moble Arena knowing that, whatever the outcome, it’ll have it’ll have ramifications for his immediate future. Gaethje thinks one path comes with more certainty, though.
“If Dustin wins, I don’t know when we’ll fight,” Gaethje said. “Charles wins, I think we’ll be fighting May, June, July, and so it’s the quickest way to get my belt. I hope he wins.”
Gaethje has been adamant about getting another title shot ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov relinquished the belt following his retirement. Hindering Gaethje’s chances was that he served as Nurmagomedov’s final victory by technical submission in October 2020.
With Poirier choosing to settle his trilogy with Conor McGregor, the UFC opted for an undisputed title fight between Oliveira and Michael Chandler this past May at UFC 262, which Oliveira won by second-round knockout. Poirier went on to win his trilogy bout with McGregor in July at UFC 264, setting up tonight’s main event and forcing Gaethje to take another about. Gaethje did, and last month at UFC 268, he won the potential “Fight of the Year” by unanimous decision over Chandler to all but secure his title shot.
Gaethje sees upside to fighting either Oliveira or Poirier for the title.
The UFC hasn’t visited Brazil since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but if Oliveira retains, Gaethje hopes doing the fight there is an option next year.
“That was my dream when I first came into the UFC, was to go into Brazil, fight their champion,” Gaethje said. “That was the chaos that I wanted Day 1. That’s something I want.”
But if Poirier wins, Gaethje would have the chance to avenge a 2018 fourth-round TKO loss. And that’s also an opportunity he’d relish.
“I’m a competitor. When you lose, you want to get it back,” Gaethje said. “In wrestling, football, baseball, basketball, you usually get a chance to get that shot back, but not in this sport. If I get that chance, I’ll have to work my ass off and make it come out different this time.”
Tonight’s UFC 269 main event can’t come soon enough for Gaethje, who recognizes just how special the record-setting matchup between Oliveira and Poirier will be.
“They were both fighting when I was in college, way before I ever thought I’d be in the UFC,” Gaethje said. “It’s awesome to see honestly. It’s an inspiration. Whichever one wins, it’ll be a great story.”