Justin Gaethje is gearing up for what he says is his final run at undisputed UFC championship gold. That starts at UFC 324 on January 24th when he faces Paddy Pimblett for the interim 155 pound belt. If he doesn’t walk away with the win, he will likely walk away for good. And even if he does win, don’t expect him to be around much longer anyway.
In a new interview with Australia’s Main Event TV, Gaethje discussed a number of things fighters on the verge of retiring talk about: age, wear on the body,
and starting a family. He denies any of these factors is taking his eye off the ball of his career as it winds his way to a finish, but it makes you wonder.
“Obviously, this is not the beginning of the road. This is towards the end,” Gaethje said. “But the fire is just as bright, I’m just as competitive. I feel amazing … I knew something big was coming so I stayed in shape. I didn’t get fat, didn’t get out of shape. And honestly, I feel amazing. I have been living right and training right, and I feel great.”
“I don’t feel 37. Obviously, I am 37. This has gone so fast and I never really focused on how old I was getting. It was just day by day, fight by fight.”
Gaethje is long enough in the tooth that the sportsbooks have pegged him a +175 dog against the -230 favorite Pimblett. That doesn’t bother “The Highlight.”
“This is my fifteenth fight in the UFC,” he said. “This is the eleventh fight where I’ll be the underdog. Yeah. And I’m 8-2 as a as a underdog.”
Gaethje was clearly in an introspective mood regarding his combat sports journey, which is approaching the 20 year mark for him.
“Nothing has changed me,” he said. “I don’t have kids. I’ve never been married. I’ve been committed to the game since I left high school in 2007. And I do want children, but I don’t want children until I could be what my parents were for me. I’m almost done with this ride. I think definitely by 2027, I will be done, and I will be able to move on to those other parts of my life.”
“I wish I would have done what Robert Whittaker did, you know, having a whole family. But man, I just haven’t been able to do that. For one, I can’t find a girl that I trust to have kids with. But outside of that, I’ve just been so committed to training.”
“I’m so lucky to have the parents I have,” he added. “I wish everybody could experience that. And again, I wanna be that for the children I have in the future. But right now, I’m so committed to, being selfish. You know? And these eight, twelve weeks leading up to this fight, I gotta really be selfish.”
