Justin Gaethje willing to wait a year for lightweight title shot

Don’t expect to see Justin Gaethje back in the cage unless he’s fighting for the UFC lightweight title.

That was the very clear message being sent by “The Highlight” in a new interview with ESPN. Following Islam Makhachev’s KO win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294, Gaethje called on the UFC to give him dibs on the Dagestani champion. Unfortunately for Gaethje, the promotion is looking to rebook Charles Oliveira as the next contender.

“If they want to put Oliveira in there, then I fight him in September [or next October],” Gaethje said.

“I have no issues waiting,” he added. “Again, as I get older I get to understand from now until the time I’m gonna fight him I’m gonna be building strength, I’m gonna be working on my cardio, I’m gonna be refining my skills. So, I’ll take as much time as they give me and I’ll be that much more ready.”

At 34-years-old, Gaethje sees the end of his career approaching, and he’s doing everything he can to lock up a fourth title fight in pursuit of UFC gold. Justin won the interim lightweight title back in May 2020, only to lose a unification match to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his next fight.

Since losing his most recent title fight to Charles Oliveira, Gaethje has earned wins over Rafael Fiziev and Dustin Poirier (for the prestigious BMF belt). In his mind, that’s more than enough to justify another crack at the lightweight championship.

“Who do I fight?” Gaethje asked. “There’s no one. I did what I had to do … I don’t know what else I need to do.”