White: No Gaethje match-up for Gamrot
Don’t expect Gaethje to face-off with a former KSW champ anytime soon.
Mateusz Gamrot passed a bruising test at UFC Vegas 57 last week, earning a hard-fought decision over Arman Tsarukyan. The win pushed his record to 21-1 (1 NC) and earned the Pole a Fight of the Night award.
After his win, in his first UFC main event, Gamrot called out two-time UFC lightweight title challenger Justin Gaethje. In doing so, Gamrot called Gaethje the “most brutal” guy in the division and someone he would love to fight.
Gaethje, who most recently fought (and lost) to Charles Oliveira for the title, might be a little out of Gamrot’s range currently. At least that’s what his boss, UFC President Dana White, seems to think.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole, White was asked about Gamrot’s last performance and his chances of scoring a fight with Gaethje.
“Incredible, yeah. I know we expected that and the co-main event to deliver,” said White in reference to Gamrot vs. Tsarukyan. “The whole card was unbelievable. But yeah, the main event was high level, incredible. I mean, just an amazing fight. And you’re talking about, you know, what, number 11 and number 12 in that division. You know what I mean? So yeah, it was special.”
When pressed on Gamrot’s call-out, White proposed a different fight.
“Yeah, I think what I love is I love Gamrot-Dariush, when he comes back.”
When asked if he knew when Beneil Dariush was expected to return from injury, White said “no clue.”
With that revelation, Gamrot might be looking at longer period on the sidelines than he might prefer.
The former KSW lightweight and featherweight champion joined the UFC in 2020. He lost his Octagon debut to Guram Kutateladze in a split decision. That Fight of the Night was the first loss on Gamrot’s pro record.
Since then he’s beaten Scott Holtzman, Jeremy Stephens and Carlos Diego Ferreira—all by stoppages.
Dariush has won seven straight fights. Most recently he took a unanimous decision over Tony Ferguson. He was scheduled to face fellow surging lightweight Islam Makhachev in February. However, he was forced to pull out from the match-up due to an ankle injury.