UFC BMF champion Justin ‘The Highlight’ Gaethje, like his nickname, is the human highlight reel of MMA. Many call Gaethje the unofficial moniker of ‘Your Favorite Fighter Favorite Fighter.’ Gaethje has a 100% bonus rate in the UFC due to his fan-friendly and exciting style.
Gaethje’s entry into MMA from collegiate wrestling relates to an interesting incident that happened in college back in 2007. The BMF champion spoke about it in his recent interview, narrating the whole story how standing up to bullies eventually inspired him to choose his career path.
Justin Gaethje talks on college brawl incident
Justin Gaethje first considered joining MMA after a college brawl incident in 2007. Gaethje, a collegiate wrestler at the time, saw some a bully attacking one of his classmates brutally. He intervened and knocked the guy out cold. However, it did not end there.
“I was hiding in a tree, and I was like, ‘God, I hope these guys don’t find me,’ because there were multiple of them,” said Gaethje about what happened after the knockout while speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri. At the time, he revealed that he was not as confident in his abilities as he had only wrestled occassionally.
“I wasn’t sure if I was ready to fight Five Guys, but I ran home. And then, um, it’s actually how I met one of my friends,” Gaethje added as the unfortunate incident did indeed have a silver lining.
“It was 2007, so, yeah, times are different. But yeah, if I did that nowadays, I’m sure I’d be in a little bit of trouble, even though he did deserve it,” Gaethje concluded as he stated that he did not want the knocked-out guy to find who he was.
Justin Gaethje ranks his top 3 best UFC wins
Justin Gaethje has faced the cream of the crop in the UFC’s lightweight division. Except for Rafael Dos Anjos and Dustin Poirier, Gaethje has a stacked resume in the premier division of the promotion.
In his recent interview with Shakiel Marjouri, Gaethje ranked his top three wins in the UFC. Gaethje picked his knockout victories over Michael Johnson, James Vick, and Dustin Poirier as his 3 best UFC wins.
Gaethje fought Johnson on his UFC debut and won the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonus. After the win, Gaethje lost to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier via knockout but rebounded with a first-round knockout of James Vick.
Gaethje would also get redemption for his knockout loss to Poirier as he knocked him out to become the BMF champion at UFC 291. Now, he is set to defend his BMF title for the first time against Max Holloway at UFC 300.
When Justin Gaethje won the title at UFC 291, it was Jorge Masvidal, the original BMF champion, who put it around his waist. However, he does not want Masvidal to do it again as Masvidal expressed his interest in fighting Gaethje for the title. Masvidal had bet big on Poirier at UFC 291 only to lose it.
Do you think Justin Gaethje will remain the BMF champion at UFC 300? Leave your prediction below!
