If Justin Gaethje would have managed to get through Eddie Alvarez, no question he would have been pushed toward a title shot. Unfortunately, the former WSOF champion finally met his match after being undefeated for 18 fights. He was proud to go out on shield, but of course he wanted to walk out with the leverage he would have gotten from a huge win. Either way, the warrior that Gaethje is just shrugs and moves on. He’ll set his eyes on a fight with Dustin Poirier or Kevin Lee next.

“When you win, you get to pick somebody in front of you, but when you lose; I am still ranked No. 5 in the world, UFC, so coming off a loss now I get to give somebody behind me a chance. So, we will see which one of these loudmouths, Kevin Lee, Dustin Poirier. One of them is going to have to get me on my comeback. So I’m trying for that.”

“I really had a lot of fun in there. It was the time of my life, honestly. Being able to put my skills on display on the highest level, the biggest stage, pay-per-view. All those things were a dream come true for me,” explained Justin. “I signed up for this and I said it before, if I was going to lose, I hoped I would get knocked out. And it came true. I love the sport, I love MMA before I started, I’m a fan and a fan of Eddie Alvarez before I started fighting.” — Justin Gaethje on The MMA Hour via MMA Mania.

It’s a no-brainer that everyone will still be watching whoever Justin Gaethje fights next, but scraps with Kevin Lee and Dustin Poirier would be wild. Of course, Poirier is focused on trying to get the rematch with Eddie Alvarez, but The Undergound King has said he’s moved on. If Gaethje can bounce back with a win over Poirier, it’s basically like his loss to Alvarez never even happened. First, that savage is taking a well-deserved rest.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/19/2017.