“Being a competitor, you always want to get these fights back,” he continued, addressing the rematch and the drive to draw level with Poirier, who enters off a third-round submission win over Michael Chandler last November. “The trajectory of our careers — he got both McGregor fights, those were huge opportunities that I missed out on and probably would have got if I got that win. You can’t sulk in situations like that, especially when it’s out of your control.
“I lost that fight, we’ve both been fighting our a** off since then, and I’ve been fighting to get this fight back, so I’m glad it’s here.”
In preparation for Saturday’s rematch with Poirier, Gaethje has been doing everything in his power to ensure that he’s ready to go 25 miserable minutes in the Octagon if necessary, eschewing his usual Sundays on the golf course for recovery days, which are greatly needed after a grueling camp heavy on running in the thin air at Red Rocks Park.
“Fighting is crazy: it’s a little bit of luck, a little bit of chance, and a whole lot of preparation, so I’ve been preparing my a** off, getting these legs ready to be perfect for five rounds,” said Gaethje, who has as many post-fight bonuses (11) as he does UFC appearances. “I think confidence is one of the biggest factors in there, so I draw some confidence from the fact that I have been training at altitude.
“I’ve been here for 13, 14 years and this is my territory. He’s coming from sea level — and I’m sure he’s been doing what he needs to do to get ready for that altitude, because it’s no secret we’re fighting at altitude — but it’s just gonna help the confidence, help me believe in myself when I’m in there.”
But the biggest thing for Gaethje is going to be remaining locked in on those two words that have been central to his most recent successes — he’s got to be tactical and technical.
