Justin Gaethje has revealed that he plans to retire from MMA in mid-2027. For now, he still has some business left in the octagon and a set of goals to fulfill.
It was rumored that The Highlight’ would retire early if he lost to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324. However, on fight night, Gaethje put in a jaw-dropping performance, which was enough to dismantle ‘The Baddy’ and win the interim 155-pound championship.
Gaethje, the only UFC fighter to win the interim title twice, would look to elevate his status to undisputed by dethroning Ilia Topuria later this year.
If the 37-year-old becomes the undisputed UFC lightweight champion, he plans to defend his title a few times before retiring from the bout, as his coach previously stated. That said, he plans to retire in mid-2027. He recently told Zach Gelb:
“I’m 37 years old now. It would be foolish to think this is the beginning, and there’s no doubt we’re almost at the end. But I don’t know. I think I’ll be 100% done by mid-2027.”
Gaethje added that if he gets past Topuria, he might consider retirement because “it wouldn’t be a dumb idea not to do it again.” On the other hand, if he is taken out by ‘El Matador’, he plans to quit. However, he reiterated that he would never publicly announce his retirement after a win over a specific opponent.
Check out Justin Gaethje’s comments below:
Rumor has it that Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria will headline the UFC White House event, and there is a 90% chance of that happening. according to Álvaro Colmenero.
Justin Gaethje is building his perfect UFC fighter
During a recent sit-down with Paramount UFC, Justin Gaethje was asked to build his perfect UFC fighter.
First, when Gaethje came to the wrestling division, he chose his former opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov. As for cardio, he went with Merab ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili. For speed he chose Michael Johnson, and for power he went for Francis Ngannou. Finally, Gaethje chose Charles Oliveira for submission.
Watch Justin Gaethje build his perfect UFC fighter below:
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