His nickname is The Highlight because whenever you are watching a Justin Gaethje fight, you are guaranteed at least one highlight, if not many. A superstar and fan-favorite, Justin has torn his way through the UFC rankings and at the time of writing is currently the number 1 contender for the Lightweight title.
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Not known as one who shies away from a fight, Justin goes into the octagon to break the opposing fighter's will en route to a victory. He has also shown on multiple occasions that he is willing to go to war with even the most intimidating fighters out there.
10 Collegiate Wrestling
Justin attended the University of Northern Colorado for his college career where he wrestled in division 1. He was even able to qualify for the NCAA Division 1 championship in both his junior and senior years of college.
He was later inducted into the University of Northern Colorado athletics hall of fame for his achievements in his wrestling career there. He was the first All-American wrestler there since 1970.
9 College Degree
Justin also pursued an interesting degree while at the University of Northern Colorado. He was able to get a degree in Human Services and has indicated that if he weren't in the fight game he would like to be a social worker.
Justin lives an interesting dichotomy being one of the most dangerous men on the planet and being a truly caring individual in the same right. He has said he would like to work with at-risk youth after he retires from the sport.
8 Eye Problems
As one could imagine one of the more necessary tools for MMA is your eyes, being able to see and react to strikes or takedowns coming your way is key. Unfortunately early in his career, Justin was unable to do this.
Gaethje suffered from really bad eyesight early in his career. They joked he couldn't see what he was hitting until he was physically in contact with them. In 2016 he underwent a procedure to improve his eyesight
7 WSOF
After an impressive regional circuit start to his professional career going 7-0, Justin was tapped to join the World Series Of Fighting in 2012 and immediately went on a tear winning his first 3 fights before he was given a title bout.
RELATED: 10 Things You Should Know About The UFC's Alexander VolkanovskiJustin went on the win that as well and defend it multiple times. He left the WSOF still the lightweight belt holder and still undefeated in his professional career to that point.
6 UFC Debut
Justin then made his UFC debut in what was one of the best fights ever for a fighter making his debut. He took on Michael Johnson in an absolute war in which both fighters had bad blood with each other in the lead-up.
After getting rocked multiple times and stunning Johnson multiple times Gaethje would win via knee KO in the 2nd round. Gaethje would go on to lose his next two bouts to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier in Fight of The Night performances.
5 Title Run
After losing for the first time in his career and then following that up with another loss Gaethje was in dire straits potentially on his way out from the UFC if he were to lose many more he face James Vick. Just knocked Vick out cold in the first round.
He then went on a tear knocking out anyone in his way including legends like Cowboy Cerrone. Gaethje also ended their impressive 12-fight win streak of Tony Ferguson in a violent fashion battering Ferguson into a shell of himself.
4 Training Camp
Justin now trains under one of the most respected Trainers in the game Trevor Wittman. While Wittman is not training fighters he is even used on the UFC broadcast team as someone to give an insightful look at the coaching of a fighter.
RELATED:5 Ways MMA & Boxing Are Similar (& 5 Ways They're Different)Along with training Justin Gaethje Trevor Wittman also trains Rose Namajunas the UFC Strawweight Champion and Kamaru Usman the UFC Welterweight champion, proving he's one of the best coaches in the game.
3 Shot At Khabib Nurmagomedov
Near the end of 2020, Justin was given a UFC title shot against then-champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He lost a close contest with the undefeated fighter via triangle choke on fight island in Abu Dhabi.
This was Khabib's last fight in the UFC and his last fight as he retired after defeating Gaethje. Justin was sure to say he would be back in the octagon shortly after the fight didn't damage him very much.
2 Chandler Bout
Justin was matched up against the former Bellator Fighter Michael Chandler in what was sure to be a fight-of-the-year candidate. Both fighters came to throw down and were in one of the hardest-hitting fights in the history of the UFC.
Gaethje and Chandler traded hard leg kicks, Gaethje got rocked in round one but recovered and won the next two rounds fairly decisively winning the unanimous decision over Chandler.
1 Another Shot At the Title
At the time of writing this article, Justin is set to face up against current Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 274 on May 7th, 2022. Gaethje said after the Michael Chandler fight if he didn't get the next shot at the title the fans would riot.
Justin's hard-hitting and strong wrestling may prove to be too much for Charles Oliveira, it's widely expected that Justin may be the next Lightweight champion if he gets another shot at the title.
