Justin Gaethje is, against all odds, the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
At Sunday’s Freedom 250 event at the White House, Gaethje pulled off one of MMA’s biggest upsets ever history by outlasting Ilia Topuria in the headliner. The end came when Topuria told his corner that he could no longer continue at the end of the fourth round.
The question now comes: should Gaethje decide against retirement, as he had admitted to thinking about before the fight, who should challenge him? Here are three possible names.
It has been well over a year since Arman Tsarukyan notoriously backed out of a title fight because of a bad weight cut. Since then, he has mainly competed in Real American Freestyle, though he did destroy Dan Hooker in Qatar in the Octagon.
Speaking on Monday’s episode of Ariel Helwani’s show, Tsarukyan made it clear that he should have the next title shot:
“It has to be me. Who else? What are they going to do? … I want to beat Justin Gaethje. I want to beat everybody, and when Ilia is going to be ready, I want to be the champion, and I’ll do same as Justin did and even worse.”
If booked, it will be a tantalizing fresh matchup. Gaethje is known for his heavy hands, but he also has NCAA Division 1 wrestling that could invite Tsarukyan’s smothering grappling. Regardless, “Ahalkalakets” has earned this. It is time to stop punishing him for the past…
… that is, unless the UFC prefers narrative over merit.
Charles Oliveira holds a 2022 win over Gaethje, but it was shrouded in controversy. “Do Bronx”, then the champion, missed weight and was forced to vacate the title. He still proceeded to win the fight by rear-naked choke.
Also on Monday, Diego Lima, Oliveira’s manager, called for a rematch on social media:
“The time has come, the fight that makes the most sense at the moment, will surely be another best-selling success. Time for unification, a rematch – where (Dana White) may, for the first time in UFC history, put two different belts on a single champion. Two monsters of the sport, two category champs, two BMFs, two future Hall of Famers, but only one arm will be raised, only one will go home with two belts.”
This do-over promises big questions: Will Oliveira repeat (cleanly) and reclaim the title, or will Gaethje avenge one of the bitterest defeats of his career? Most importantly, what new strategies will come into play?
Speaking of rematches, here is another loss that Gaethje can avenge.
Holloway is scheduled to rematch Conor McGregor at UFC 329 next month. Assuming he wins that fight (and he is a big favorite to do so given McGregor’s inactivity), he is easily another marketable opponent.
Gaethje and Holloway’s first fight at UFC 300 was the stuff of legend – a classic war filled with plenty of exchanges, capped off by a last-second knockout. Will Holloway become a two-division champion this time around, or will Gaethje even the score?
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Besides these men, there is also the possibility that Topuria receives an instant rematch.
It is not the most meritocratic idea, but in today’s profit-oriented UFC, it is a possibility. After all, Topuria had many chances to finish Gaethje on Sunday, but his surprisingly shallow gas tank prevented him.
Will a hypothetical rematch go differently? Who knows, but the world has to hear from Gaethje on his fighting future first…
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