Justin Gaethje`s situation regarding the lightweight title remains uncertain.
A vacant belt in the 155-pound division will be contested at UFC 317 on June 28, but Gaethje is not one of the contenders. Instead, undefeated Ilia Topuria and former champion Charles Oliveira will fight for the title recently vacated by Islam Makhachev. Topuria himself recently relinquished his featherweight title to pursue a second belt, while Makhachev is moving up to welterweight for a fight with the new champion Jack Della Maddalena.
According to UFC commentator Jon Anik, who recently spoke with Gaethje, “The Highlight” was quite unhappy about the announcement of the UFC 317 main event.
“He was furious,” Anik stated on The Anik & Florian Podcast. “He feels he was clearly bypassed in favor of Charles Oliveira for the chance to fight Ilia Topuria. And I believe Justin Gaethje and his manager Ali Abdelaziz are seeking some assurance that he will be next in line. The good news about this Topuria-Oliveira fight is that it`s on June 28, less than six weeks away. So, I don`t think it`s an unreasonable request for Justin, considering what he did against Rafael Fiziev (staying on the card, not fighting Dan Hooker, securing a win), putting distance from the UFC 300 result. By the way, he fought at UFC 300 to assist the UFC, even though he could have been fighting for the undisputed championship at that time. So, I wouldn`t be surprised if Gaethje receives some form of guarantee that he is next for the winner of Topuria-Oliveira.”
Anik added, “But I can simply tell you that Justin was far from pleased.”
Gaethje is a former interim champion with three wins in his last four fights. In his most recent bout, he secured a unanimous decision victory in a rematch against Rafael Fiziev, bouncing back from a brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300. Prior to the Holloway defeat, Gaethje landed a head kick knockout against fellow lightweight standout Dustin Poirier.
Oliveira`s last fight saw him defeat Michael Chandler for the second time. He was close to another title shot opportunity, but an injury during fight week forced him to withdraw from a rematch with Makhachev, and he subsequently lost a close split decision to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 289 (likely a typo, as the fight was at UFC 300). Oliveira holds a previous victory over Gaethje from their fight at UFC 274, winning by first-round submission.
Anik`s co-host, Kenny Florian, expressed his hope that Gaethje will eventually face off against Topuria.
“I`m sure Gaethje is upset, but I think a fight between him and Topuria would be incredibly interesting,” Florian commented. “Regarding Oliveira, you certainly have to be concerned about his grappling. I don`t anticipate Oliveira trading blows with Gaethje for very long if he can avoid it. But Topuria versus Gaethje? That`s guaranteed fireworks. Those guys will stand and trade. That fight will absolutely deliver, and I believe we`ll see it at some point. I truly do.”
The question for Gaethje now is whether he can afford to wait for the UFC 317 main event winner or if he needs to risk his standing in the contender queue to stay active. The rapidly rising lightweight Paddy Pimblett has indicated a desire to face Gaethje next, and Anik questions the wisdom of such a move for Gaethje.
“By sheer merit, Charles Oliveira possesses a higher ranking than Justin Gaethje,” Anik stated. “He is a former champion, and depending on how you view recent victories (Oliveira`s over Michael Chandler, Gaethje`s over Rafael Fiziev and Dustin Poirier), both men have valid arguments, though neither is entirely ironclad. Certainly, both present compelling matchups against Ilia Topuria, but it appears Islam Makhachev is definitively vacating the title.”
Anik continued, “Regarding Justin Gaethje, I know they (UFC) would like to match him with Paddy Pimblett, but if you are Justin Gaethje, on the verge of fighting for the one prize that has eluded you in this sport (the title), what is your incentive or price to fight a guy lower in the rankings? A win against someone like Paddy Pimblett does absolutely nothing to bring him closer to the ultimate goal, and even if he wins (assuming he stays relatively healthy), it merely serves as a further postponement. Paddy has spoken about his interest in fighting Gaethje, but I`m simply not sure Justin will agree to that particular bout.”
