UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje denies considering retirement after rumor explodes on Twitter.
Justin Gaethje is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC, mostly due to his ferocious style in the octagon and living up to his nickname of “The Highlight” for every one of his fights; win or lose.
After rumors surfaced on Twitter that he may be considering retirement from the sport of MMA altogether, Gaethje shot those rumors down just as fast as they blew up on social media.
It all started when Twitter user @MiracleMMA_ leaked DMs from a recent conversation with Ryan Charlebois, one of Gaethje’s training partners and Elevation Fight Team teammates. In the conversation, Charlebois gave an insight as to why Gaethje doesn’t have a fight lined up at the moment.
“He’s frustrated,” Charlebois said in one message. “UFC is denying him the fights he wants and he’s been discussing retirement. The Khabib loss took a lot out of him.”
Just hours after getting word of the apparent DM leaks, Gaethje shut down the possibility of retiring from the UFC in a Twitter reply.
“This is straight BS,” Gaethje said in a tweet. I’m far from done chasing that high. I’m also guessing this dude fabricated this entire thing.”
Gaethje hasn’t fought since his loss to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254. He has since been leaked to potential bouts with Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor.
The former interim UFC lightweight champion is currently listed as the second-ranked contender in the division, behind top contender Dustin Poirier and the newly-crowned champion Charles Oliveira.
UFC president Dana White said last month that the promotion has “big plans” for Justin Gaethje
Just weeks ago, it appeared that the UFC and Gaethje were close to coming to terms on a fight for later this year; with UFC president Dana White alluding to a big-name opponent for his next bout. White pointed to the upcoming Poirier vs. McGregor trilogy at UFC 264 when talking about Gaethje’s possible next fight.
“He fits very well in all this,” White said at the UFC 260 post-fight press conference. “He’s probably next in line – depends on what happens with Dustin and Conor. Timing is everything when these fights happen, so Justin Gaethje couldn’t be in a better position.”
Gaethje was linked to a fight with Chandler after UFC 262, in which Chandler lost the vacant lightweight title bout against Charles Oliveira. While it’s still possible that a Chandler fight could take place next for Gaethje, the UFC isn’t budging any time soon until the McGregor/Poirier fight happens.
It doesn’t seem like the 32-year-old Gaethje is retiring any time soon, especially while he’s still in the prime of his fighting career. If the pop he received from the crowd seeing him on the big screen at UFC 263 is any indication, he’s still a household name on the biggest stage in the sport.
Source link
