(22-2, 19 KOs, 1 Submission)
Last Fight: TKO win vs Tony Ferguson (5/9/2020)
Next fight: vs Khabib Nurmagomedov @ UFC 254 (10/24/2020)
Outlook: Your favorite fighter’s favorite fighter put together a masterclass of patient violence in his interim championship win over Tony Ferguson, tagging “El Cucuy” with clean, heavy shots while breaking down the man who seemed unbreakable. Gaethje’s maturity in his game is well-documented, and his ability to unleash bombs without taking too many himself has birthed the most interesting challenger to Nurmagomedov’s pursuit of perfection. His All-American wrestling pedigree is the matchup’s X-factor, and his one-punch power is the tension-maker. If Gaethje succeeds in the singular accomplishment of beating Nurmagomedov, plenty of fun fights await. Maybe there’s an immediate rematch with Nurmagomedov. He and Dustin Poirier could run back their classic 2018 bout from which Poirier came away victorious. Dan Hooker, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler are all there, too. But before anyone gets ahead of themselves, Gaethje’s mountain of a Dagestani challenge awaits.
