Matt Brown reveals dire stakes for Justin Gaethje at UFC 313: 'I don't think he's interested in fighting for paydays'
03/08/2025 11:00 AM
Justin Gaethje could potentially stand at a career crossroads when he fights at UFC 313.
After falling to Max Holloway in one of the most shocking knockouts in UFC history, the 36-year-old lightweight took the better part of the past year off to rest and recover before booking his next fight. On Saturday, Gaethje engages in a rematch against Rafael Fiziev, who accepted the fight on short notice after Dan Hooker suffered a broken hand that kept him from competing.
Gaethje holds a majority decision win over Fiziev from their past encounter but the opponent doesn't matter as much as the result when it comes to his future. An impressive win could vault Gaethje right back into title contention again but a second consecutive devastating loss could put him on the precipice of making the decision of whether he wants to ever fight again or not.
"He's talked about it very openly. He's not going to keep doing this if he's not going to be champion," UFC legend Matt Brown said about Gaethje on The Fighter vs. The Writer. "I felt the same way in my career, which is why I ultimately ended up retiring. It's like what are you doing? Just fighting for a payday? I did that some but Gaethje, I don't see him doing that. I don't think he's interested in fighting for paydays. I think he wants to be champion.
"That's his sole mission in this sport and if he's not going to get it, he's going to get out of it. If he wins, getting a title shot, he's at least back in that picture with those top guys. Getting a title shot at this point coming off of the loss and just beating Fiziev, that's not going to get him a title shot but it opens some doors where he can get contender fights and be back in that mix with those guys."
By all accounts, Gaethje was already in line for a title fight when he accepted the offer to face Holloway on the historic UFC 300 card this past April. That loss obviously derailed those plans but given Gaethje's non-stop action style and potential for producing a Fight of the Year every time he competes, it's tough to imagine he couldn't inject himself back in the championship race again with a single win.
On the flipside, Gaethje has always been very cognizant of the damage he endures given his fighting style, which played a part in his long layoff after losing to Holloway in such a violent manner.
Rather than just rushing back into the fray, Gaethje took time off to allow his brain and body to heal and Brown commends him for always taking that seriously.
"It's interesting when you see the guys like Justin Gaethje or a Robbie Lawler when you watch them fight you're like 'they're just wild brawlers with no brain!'" Brown said. "Then you get behind the scenes and it's like these are some of the most intelligent, legit, well thought out guys in the sport. Just the way they fight doesn't necessarily expose who they are as people."
While Gaethje's reputation always centers around his ability to take a punch to then give back one of his own, he has worked diligently on being a better defensive fighter in recent years.
Brown believes that Gaethje actually approaching Fiziev with a smarter strategy would be his best path to victory but he also knows "The Highlight" didn't earn his nickname by accident.
"He's evolved somewhat and he has had better defense and strategized better in the last few years," Brown said. "He still has that dog in him, that natural instinct that Holloway pulled out of him when he said stand in the middle and throw down. It was obviously a mistake on Justin's part."
As far as the Holloway knockout following Gaethje into the cage on Saturday, Brown can't say for sure if that's possible because every fighter deals with that kind of loss differently.
For him personally, Brown only suffered a similar fate once during his career and in a strange way, it actually may have made him a better fighter.
"I got knocked out once in my career by Donald Cerrone and it didn't mess with me at all," Brown said. "I think it actually loosened me up a little bit. I was like that shit wasn't that bad at all! That's really not the worst thing ever at all. You wake up and you're like I must not have won because I'm waking up."
Brown can't predict if Gaethje's ability to take a punch might change after getting his chin cracked like that at UFC 300 but anything is possible.
When it comes to the psychological hangover from that loss, Brown hopes that's not the case because he can't imagine Gaethje suddenly abandoning the style that has won him so many fights and the one-time interim lightweight champion has even gone as far as acknowledging that he's actually "excited to be scared again" after that fight.
"It will be interesting if that plays a factor," Brown said. "Fiziev is a tough guy to come back to if you're going to have a little bit of psychological issues going in there being a little gun shy or a little nervous about getting hit. Because you're going to get hit if you fight Fiziev. That's not a good place to be but it's cool that he's open and honest about it. I guess it's to be seen.
"Gaethje's style has always been to take shots so that could be a big problem if that's a psychological issue that he's dealing with."
