Justin Gaethje Says MMA Career Won’t go on Much Longer

Justin Gaethje’s fighting style doesn’t exactly ooze longevity.

“The Highlight” went to war with Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC Glendale Saturday night (April 14). As expected, the bout delivered non-stop action and is already a front runner for “Fight of the Year.” In the end, Poirier earned a fourth round TKO victory.

Gaethje took a bevy of clean shots throughout the fight. He had his moments, attacking the lead leg and rocking Poirier in the third round but he couldn’t withstand the significant amount of punishment forever. This is “The Highlight’s” second straight defeat.

After the bout, Gaethje spoke to the media. He admitted that he’ll be out of the sport of mixed martial arts sooner than later:

“I’ve got about five fights in me. Before this I said I’ve got six. … I want the biggest fights possible. Coming off two losses, that’s hard to say, but you want to see me fight. But, if you don’t see me fight live, you will regret it when I’m done. It’s not going to be very long. I’ve got five left.”

Gaethje started his professional MMA career back in Aug. 2011. Before signing with the UFC, Gaethje found success including a run with the World Series of Fighting lightweight title. His UFC debut was successful as well, knocking out Michael Johnson in the second round.

Gaethje ended up losing the first bout of his career to Eddie Alvarez back in Dec. 2017. Alvarez landed a knee that shut the lights off. In that bout, Gaethje once again sustained a great deal of damage.