Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje has called for a rematch with either former undisputed champion, Charles Oliveira, or fellow former interim division titleholder, Dustin Poirier in his Octagon return – claiming he fought like a “complete idiot” during his title outing with the Brazilian.
Gaethje, the current #3 ranked lightweight contender, co-headlined UFC 288 last weekend in London, England – returning to the winner’s enclosure with a majority decision win over Tiger Muay Thai striker, Rafael Fiziev.
Battling with the striking expert over the course of three rounds, Gaethje managed to turn around a deficit with an impressive third round display against Fiziev – bloodying the #6 ranked challenger with a barrage of shots on the feet.
Prior to his win over Fiziev, the ONX Labs staple and Trevor Wittman student challenged for undisputed lightweight championship honors against the above-mentioned, Oliviera back in May of last year.
Starting brightly against the Sao Paulo native, Gaethje landed multiple knockdowns on Oliveira – before he was submitted by the promotion’s most prolific submission ace with a first round rear-naked choke.
Justin Gaethje eyes future rematch with Charles Oliveira
Weighing up his future fighting plans off the back of his win over Fiziev, Gaethje admitted that he would rather not fight friend, Beneil Dariush in the future – but welcomed a pair of rematches against either Oliveira, or Poirier next.
“The loser of the (Charles) Oliveira and (Beneil) Dariush fight – I’d rather not fight Dariush – I love that dude,” Justin Gaethje told assembled reporters following UFC 286. “I think he’s going to beat Oliveira.”
“I fought like a complete idiot when I fought Oliveira, so I’d love to have that fight back,” Justin Gaethje explained. “But Dustin (Poirier) is just as good an option.”
Minting himself as the interim lightweight champion back in May 2020, Gaethje defeated former interim gold holder, Tony Ferguson with an eventual fifth round knockout.
Set for his own Octagon return in May, Oliveira is slated to co-headline UFC 288 in Newark, New Jersey — taking on Kings MMA staple, Beneil Dariush over the course of three rounds in a potential title-eliminator.
