LAS VEGAS – Justin Gaethje realized he did better than he thought in his UFC 300 knockout loss.
Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was knocked out in the last second of his BMF title fight against Max Holloway last April. Although he was down on the scorecards, Gaethje saw the fight differently when he watched it back for the first time.
“I just watched the Max fight today for the first time,” Gaethje told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a news conference Wednesday. “I actually think I fought really well. It was just, he was so great. He fought really well that night. Even if I go back to (the fighter I was in my WSOF days), I’m still a much more refined athlete in my skills.
“And I think with the aggressive style and my skills being much more refined, and much more accurate, that’s a dangerous combination. I just figured it was about time (to rewatch it). … To be fair, I did stop it with 10 seconds left. I’ve seen that part (when I got knocked out) plenty of times.”
Gaethje will look to rebound when he runs things back with Rafael Fiziev (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 313 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+). He beat Fiziev by majority decision in their first fight at UFC 286.
Gaethje was asked if he’d be willing to engage in a rock ’em, sock ’em type of exchange in the final seconds like his last fight, and the 13-time UFC bonus winner assured that he won’t back down from a barnburner.
“If you ever have seen me fight, you know I will accept that challenge every single time,” Gaethje said. “When he pointed to the ground, I said yes and ran to the middle. So absolutely.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
