“His Face Is Going to Look Like Tony Ferguson’s”- Justin Gaethje Issues a Stern Warning to Charles Oliveira Ahead of Their Title Fight at UFC 274
Justin Gaethje takes on Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title this weekend. This will be the second shot at the lightweight title for ‘The Highlight’ who previously came up short against Khabib Nurmagomedov when the two men met on Fight Island at UFC 254.
Since the loss to Nurmagomedov, ‘The Highlight bounced back with a fight of the year win over Michael Chandler at UFC 268 in November 2021. Following the win, he stated that he wanted an immediate title shot and would riot if that did not happen. Dana White and the UFC obliged and Gaethje has the chance to take away the belt from a man who has looked seemingly unstoppable in his past few performances.
In a recent interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, Gaethje served a cold reminder about his intentions to Oliveira. He said, “I think the confidence he is here with, the maturity, those are the factors that are different. He’s got great Jiu-Jitsu, he is really good at standup, but his takedowns aren’t super effective, he falls into positions, He uses trips, it’s not a lot of driving double legs. He had a nice double leg against Michael Chandler, that was impressive.”
‘The Highlight’ continued, “But a lot of it is going to be him putting you up against the fence and working from that situation. It is not closing the distance and driving through me. So, I mean, I think he’s going to have to get it to the ground. If not, it is going to look like Tony Ferguson, his face is going to look like Tony Ferguson’s.”
Second time is the charm for Justin Gaethje?
Justin Gaethje has been in the UFC since 2017. During that time, he has put on some of the most entertaining fights the promotion has ever seen. However, his ultimate goal in the sport is to become a world champion, which will be easier said than done against Oliveira.
Gaethje believes that if the fight is on the feet, it will work in his favor. This might not necessarily be the case given Oliveira might not hit the hardest, but he has knockout power which he has shown multiple times in his UFC career.
What do you make of Justin Gaethje’s assessment? Let us know in the comments below!
