Justin Gaethje was spotted with a suspicious bump on his neck with less than three weeks to go before his interim lightweight title fight against Paddy Pimblett, which takes place atop
the UFC 324 fight card on Sat., Jan. 24, 2026 on Paramount+ from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Much ado about nothing?
“Did you screen shot me eating brisket from my YouTube video to make it look like I have herpes on my lip?“ Gaethje replied on social media. ”My neck is a healing [from an] ingrown hair. It’s an ingrown hair on my neck and brisket hanging out of my mouth, Nostradamus.“
The only other fighter with neck hair thick enough to leave that kind of bump is Jon Talbain.
After failing to secure the lightweight title in two separate attempts (UFC 254, UFC 274), this undoubtedly marks Gaethje’s final shot at capturing the 155-pound crown, so don’t expect a gamer like “The Highlight” to let anything stand in his way. That said, fans were not buying Gaethje’s explanation.
Personally, I’m more interested in why Gaethje is devouring brisket this close to his weight cut.
Skin infections are not uncommon in MMA and easily spread across mats and equipment, which is why UFC CEO, Dana White, finds it “very f—king weird” when fighters keep it a secret. Unless something is confirmed or Gaethje fails to get through medicals, all we can do at this time is take him at his word.
