Marcus Gaethje, the twin brother of UFC interim champion Justin Gaethje, explained why watching his brother fight makes him so nervous.
The more well-known Gaethje brother takes on UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov on Saturday at UFC 254. Gaethje’s family is on Fight Island with him ahead of the biggest fight of the year, as the UFC flew in his father, mother, and brother to be with him. But while Gaethje is no doubt excited to defeat Nurmagomedov with his family watching, for his brother, it’s not as easy as it looks watching his twin compete.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Marcus Gaethje explained why watching his brother Justin fight can be so stressful and makes him feel so nervous. Justin is known for his wars and he has taken an incredible amount of punishment, which can be hard for his family to watch.
“You know, what I hate the most is that I get nervous and he doesn’t. Like before in the back of the room before we walk out, all of his coaches are a nervous wreck and he’s back there goofing around, having fun, punching us. Like dude, you’re supposed to be nervous, you’re about to get in a fistfight. He never does. I’ve honestly never seen him get nervous before a fight. He’s always the calm one out of the group,” Gaethje said.
“Being in the corner is totally different now because he’s no fans, so the atmosphere is completely different. (But) it’s fun. It’s really fun being in the corner.”
Although the Gaethje brothers are twins, Marcus was quick to point out that he never feels any sort of ‘twin sensation’ when his brother is in the cage getting punched and kicked. All he feels is the nerves of seeing his brother get into a fistfight.
“No, thank goodness. No, I don’t feel nothing. I just get nerves. Really bad nerves,” Gaethje joked.