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Justin Gaethje Admits He’s Concerned About Taking Too Much Damage

UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje has a fan-friendly style that has undoubtedly won him many a fight fan. He battled it out with Michael Johnson in his UFC debut last July, ultimately winning the war of attrition by second-round TKO. His next two outings didn’t go his way, however, and he ended up losing via T/KO […]

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UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje has a fan-friendly style that has undoubtedly won him many a fight fan.

He battled it out with Michael Johnson in his UFC debut last July, ultimately winning the war of attrition by second-round TKO.

His next two outings didn’t go his way, however, and he ended up losing via T/KO to Eddie Alvarez and then Dustin Poirier.

Now, Gaethje admitted he is at least somewhat concerned over the consequences of his risky fighting style while on The MMA Hour this week (via MMA Fighting):

“I’m just telling myself that now because, for one, this is a young man’s game.”

“Three hard fights in a row, all in the last 12 months, people have said to me that it’s something to worry about. There are guys in the UFC now that have been knocked unconscious seven times, five times, completely unconscious. I have never gone completely unconscious yet. I have passed every single one of my impact tests after the fights.

“Of course it’s a concern, but that’s what we do. We fight for a living. If you watched the Edson (Barboza) and Kevin Lee fight, they took punches. Kevin Lee won but he took that huge spinning head kick and that’s not good for your brain, but it is what we do.

“I can’t go to bed every night scared or worried because this is what I signed up for. This is what I get paid to do. I try to fight twice a year so I don’t add up (the damage) too fast.”

The former WSOF lightweight champion was thrown to the wolves right out of the gate, but his losses were competitive until the finish. With CTE at the forefront of discussion when it comes to sports, Gaethje is certainly testing dangerous boundaries of what kind of punishment a human brain can take.

While he’s right he hasn’t been completely knocked out yet, he has instead been accumulating sustained punches to the head for a prolonged period of time.

Do you feel Gaethje’s fighting style is detrimental to his health? how much longer can he last in the UFC fighting his style?

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Justin Gaethje Finally Plans On Switching Up Style In Next Fight

Justin Gaethje’s fighting style has endeared him to fans worldwide. His aggressive, non-stop, power-punching action with zero regards for defense has made him a UFC star and headliner in just three fights in the promotion. However, after his last loss to Dustin Poirier, who defeated Gaethje by TKO in a thrilling affair at April 14’s […]

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Justin Gaethje’s fighting style has endeared him to fans worldwide.

His aggressive, non-stop, power-punching action with zero regards for defense has made him a UFC star and headliner in just three fights in the promotion.

However, after his last loss to Dustin Poirier, who defeated Gaethje by TKO in a thrilling affair at April 14’s UFC on FOX 29, many fighters and fans began questioning the longevity and safety of a fighter like him. And what’s more is that he’s an NCAA All-American wrestler despite rarely if ever using his supposedly elite mat skills in mixed martial arts.

Finally, Gaethje appears to have listened to those sentiments, and plans on implementing more wrestling into his game plans moving forward (via MMA Fighting):

“I’ve been wrestling my whole life. I should’ve and could’ve took him down a couple of times, especially when I had him rocked just to steal a round or two. For some reason, my mind will not let me do it,”

“I think I sold myself so hard on the fact that this is not wrestling. I don’t know, I honestly don’t know the answer to that question,” he replied when asked why wrestling didn’t prominently feature in his fighting arsenal.

“It gets you tired. If I’m going to get tired, I’d rather it be from fighting and not from wrestling. That’s the reason why I never wanted to wrestle. But I did so much cardio this camp that it would not have been a problem for me to turn it into a wrestling match, but I just can’t do it, it would not be fun for me.”

Gaethje blasted onto the UFC scene with an amazing back-and-forth war against Michael “The Menace” Johnson at last year’s TUF 26 Finale, which Gaethje won by TKO. Trouble began to emerge in his next outing, however, when he faced former divisional champion Eddie Alvarez, who put Gaethje’s lights out with a knee.

It was the first time Gaethje had ever lost a professional MMA fight, and it perhaps offered the blueprint on how to defeat the bulldozing slugger.

Then the Poirier fight didn’t help his case for such a reckless style, so maybe we will see Gaethje going for a double leg in the octagon soon of instead of blocking punches with his face.

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Report: Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje Targeted For Spring 2018

The “Just Bleed” Gods may be blessing fight fans with another stellar display of violence. Inside sources confirmed to MMAJunkie that Dustin Poirier will reportedly fight Justin Gaethje sometime in the spring of 2018. Poirier initially wanted a rematch with Eddie Alvarez, who happened to be the first man to beat Gaethje at UFC 218 […]

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The “Just Bleed” Gods may be blessing fight fans with another stellar display of violence.

Inside sources confirmed to MMAJunkie that Dustin Poirier will reportedly fight Justin Gaethje sometime in the spring of 2018. Poirier initially wanted a rematch with Eddie Alvarez, who happened to be the first man to beat Gaethje at UFC 218 last month.

While the Alvarez rematch is off the table for now, Poirier vs Gaethje is an incredible fight between two competitors with as much power as they have heart.

Since moving to lightweight, Poirier has been on a roll with few hiccups. He most recently finished former champion Anthony Pettis to put him back into title contention after a knockout loss to Michael Johnson and a controversial no contest against Alvarez at last May’s UFC 211.

Conversely, Gaethje debuted against Johnson and TKO’d him in a rousing war of attrition. His subsequent loss to Alvarez leads us to the matchup with Poirier, a fellow adherent to unbridled violence.

While the bout has yet to be confirmed, both men are certainly looking to reestablish themselves in an ever-changing lightweight division. With current champ Conor McGregor on the verge of being stripped and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson likely set for the undisputed title, there’s plenty of room for fresh blood at 155 pounds.

And you better believe if and when these two enter the cage together, much blood will be shed.

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Kevin Lee Hints At Huge Changes For 2018

Kevin Lee wants to be a different fighter in 2018 and is making big changes to do so. After a disappointing loss in an interim lightweight title fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 216, Lee has his sights set on a banner year and already has his next opponent in mind. During a recent appearance on […]

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Kevin Lee wants to be a different fighter in 2018 and is making big changes to do so.

After a disappointing loss in an interim lightweight title fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 216, Lee has his sights set on a banner year and already has his next opponent in mind.

During a recent appearance on SiriusXM, Lee revealed some big changes he’s making to his fight game:

“I’m taking some time, I’m changing up my whole style. I’m changing up my team around me. You know, there have been a lot of things happening, especially at the end of this last year, unfortunately, that I’ve had to make changes (for). But it’s a new me, it’s a new start, when I come back the folks are going to see a new me.”

Lee then mentioned Gaethje as a possible dance partner, who himself is coming off of a deflating knockout loss to Eddie Alvarez, which happens to be the first loss of Gaethje’s career.

But with both men still hovering around the top five and top ten of the division, a win for either man would certainly put them back into title contention. For Lee, he see’s the matchup as more than favorable:

“I mean, absolutely. I think the best thing about 155 is that there are so many options. The division is right open now. I don’t know, we’ll see. If it’s going to be against Justin, I like easy money. Justin likes to take a lot of damage. I like to give a lot of damage – it seems like a good match to me.”

But overall, Lee isn’t sure Gaethje should get right back in the cage against him due to the damage he’s sustained in his last two UFC bout against Eddie Alvarez and Michael Johnson:

“I’m trying to look out for Justin’s health, too. He needs some time, too. The man has taken a lot of bad beatings over the last couple of months. I don’t think he wants another one right here, right now.“

Would you like to see Lee and Gaethje duke it out? Who would win a battle between them?

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Five Best Fights & MMA Moments Of 2017

With the new year quickly approaching, there’s no better time to reflect on the great fights we’ve witnessed this past year. 2017 gave us Mayweather vs McGregor, GSP vs Bisping, and Jones vs Cormier II, failed drug tests, and epic showdowns. Let’s take a look at the best fights of 2017 in review of a […]

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Let’s take a look at the best fights of 2017 in review of a year that broke barriers and records while also alienating fans and making them question of the future of the UFC alike:

Photo Credit: MMA Junkie/USA Today Sports

5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Michael Bisping

This fight had it all; a title fight with a former champion returning to reclaim his former glory, an expert trash-talking Brit with a chip on his shoulder, and perhaps the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

Fans and pundits didn’t know what to make of St-Pierre’s return, having been in retirement for the past four years. Ring rust is real, but the former longtime welterweight champion looked better than he ever had against Bisping at UFC 217. St. Pierre controlled the entire fight before finishing the middleweight champ with a rear naked choke in the third round.

It was one of those moments in MMA that shine a little brighter than the rest. Even though GSP would ultimately give up the belt he just won, his performance against an always game and gutsy Michael Bisping was nothing short of spectacular.

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Kevin Lee: Nobody Will Watch Gaethje & Alvarez On TUF 26

Emerging lightweight contender Kevin Lee won’t be watching this upcoming Ultimate Fighter season with coaches Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje. While all three men call 155 pounds home, Lee was critical of the choice to have Alvarez and Gaethje coach against each other, as he perceives the two to be less than charismatic when it […]

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Emerging lightweight contender Kevin Lee won’t be watching this upcoming Ultimate Fighter season with coaches Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje.

While all three men call 155 pounds home, Lee was critical of the choice to have Alvarez and Gaethje coach against each other, as he perceives the two to be less than charismatic when it comes to screen time.

Lee voiced his disdain for the coaching choice this week as they begin filming the 26th season.

“I think if you even ask anybody in the UFC, and they say (me vs. Gaethje) is the better fight to make,” Lee said according to MMAjunkie. “That’s the better TV. If they really wanted to push ‘TUF,’ I think that would’ve been the better option, and I think if you ask anybody in the know, they would’ve said the same thing.”

“You’ve got Eddie, and you’ve got Gaethje, who are both brain dead. They’re going to go in there, they’re going to talk, and they’re going to slur some words at each other. Nobody is going to watch it. It’s going to be terrible. I feel sorry for the women on the show, because they’re not going to get as many eyeballs.”

Lee ran through Michael Chiesa last month and has emerged as a fringe lightweight contender ever since.

Meanwhile, Gaethje made his UFC debut after amassing a perfect 19-0 record in WSOF and engaged in a potential fight of the year candidate against Michael Johnson, who he eventually finished with strikes.

Season 26 will can feature women’s flyweights, and will crown a 125-pound champ in the season finale.

But Lee (16-2) remains disgruntled with the choice in coaches.

“If Gaethje beats me, you say, ‘Oh, he beats a smart fighter,’” Lee said. “If he knocks Eddie out in the first round, the story line will be that Eddie’s done. The story line won’t be that Gaethje’s a great fighter.”

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