Justin Gaethje has vowed to avoid the mistake of "not moving forward" in his upcoming title fight after coming up short in his previous defeat by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The lightweight star will challenge for the undisputed 155lb title for the second time in his career after losing to Nurmagomedov two years ago in an appearance on 'Fight Island'. Gaethje has since placed himself back into title contention against Charles Oliveira this weekend in Phoenix.
However Gaethje is confident he will prevail at the second time of asking despite admitting his performance must be perfect. "I have to be perfect," Gaethje said during UFC 274 Countdown. "The only time I've ever took another strategy, where I wasn't moving forward, was against Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and I'll never do that again. So, if he is moving forward, know then things aren't going good for me."
Gaethje produced a trademark hard-hitting display against Michael Chandler in his previous victory at UFC 268, which saw him boosted back into pole position to challenge for the 155lb crown. The 33-year-old will face a formidable test in the Brazilian, who has the most submission wins in UFC history and is undefeated in his previous ten outings.
Despite coming up short against Nurmagomedov, Gaethje believes he learned how to make a champion walk through hell. “I’m going to be perfect and I’ll be perfect for 25 minutes,” Gaethje told Megan Olivi.
“If he can beat me, then kudos to him. But he’s gonna have to walk through hell like Khabib did. He’s not as powerful, he doesn’t have the structure, he doesn’t have the frame, and he doesn’t have explosive takedowns. He’s going to have find me making a mistake, overreaching, and try to get into a grappling situation.
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"Outside that, he better be praying everyday that he gets me to the ground. If not, it’s going to be the same night as [Michael] Chandler, except five rounds. If I went five rounds with Chandler, he would have died and that’s the truth. So, I’m glad we didn’t go five rounds.”
Oliveira and Gaethje have traded verbal jabs since the title defence was confirmed with Gaethje hitting out at his rival for "quitting" in fights earlier in his career. The Brazilian was paired with options away from the American including a title challenge from returning Conor McGregor.
"Justin is a guy who is a brawler, believing in his hands 100 per cent because that's all he's got, his hands," Oliveira continued on the UFC's countdown show. "I have all the advantages over him, I'm better on my feet, on the ground and at wrestling. My mind and spirit is better than his. I'm the champion, that's the reality."
