Justin Gaethje is opening up about his loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 274.
It was Justin Gaethje (23-4 MMA) vs Charles Oliveira (33-8 MMA) in the lightweight main event on May 7th, 2022 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The result was Oliveira submitting Gaethje via rear-naked choke just 3:22 into the first round of their battle.
Gaethje spoke to ‘MMA Fighting‘ about the loss ahead of the UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday:
“It’s a crazy game we play. It’s the reason I love it. It’s a game of inches, and at the end of the day, being at home in front of my crowd, sometimes you lose control of your emotions. I’m not exactly sure what happened. I had the time of my life, but it’s a crazy game we play.”
Continuing Gaethje said:
“I haven’t lost one night’s sleep over it because ultimately I can only control my preparation. I do regret not controlling my emotions entirely, but we play a fun game. It’s an emotional game. It’s damn near impossible.”
Gaethje’s goal is to become champion. While UFC 274 was a setback, he hasn’t lost too much ground in the lightweight division.
‘The Highlight’ went on to discuss his upcoming nose surgery saying:
“I’m going to get nose surgery, July 14. Take a good month to recover and get back to work.”
“I’ve been waiting for 13 years for somebody in MMA to break my nose and it hasn’t happened. I broke it in wrestling practice 13 years ago. Life’s been hell since then. I have to wear a nose strip to bed every single night. Eating, sleeping, living, training, fighting, I don’t even know what my f****** voice sounds like.”
Finishing Justin Gaethje cited what’s next on his agenda:
“I’ve been waiting a long time to get this (nose) broken. No one’s done it so I’m going to do it myself and give it one last run towards the title.”
“There’s a few fights that are going to happen. I’ll let those happen. I want a clear two- or three-fight path back to the title fight, and I want to earn it like I should. I have a great manager, I’m not worried about it too much. I’ll be ready to fight.”
Gaethje is hoping he will make his return to the cage in late 2022 or early 2023 with his sights set on UFC gold.
Are you looking forward to seeing Justin Gaethje back in the Octagon? Who would you like to see him fight next?
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