Issue 130

July 2015

Justin Gaethje’s aggressive fighting style could be considered reckless abandon, but it’s making the WSOF champion a firm fan favorite.

As Justin Gaethje bounces to the cage to defend his World Series of Fighting lightweight championship for the second time against Luis Palomino, the anticipation inside the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix is palpable.

Both men are renowned for leaving their opponents motionless on the canvas through violent displays of striking, so the audience knows they’re in store for a back-and-forth brawl that won’t stop until someone is unconscious. ‘The Highlight’ in particular embraces the chaos of flying fists and bone-crushing kicks. It’s the kind of fight where he’s at his most comfortable, and his very best. 

As the dueling duo’s bloody battle rumbles on through the third frame, a relentless Gaethje begins to show his superior predilection for punishment. As his battered and exhausted opponent slows down, the 26-year-old props him up against the cage and chops him down with a barrage of punches, knees, elbows and leg kicks. Unable to stand due to the beating he’s absorbed, the experienced Peruvian is helpless to prevent a final salvo of ground ‘n’ pound and the TKO stoppage.

Gaethje’s bloodied face is swollen from his opponent’s heavy hands too, but he doesn’t care. He’s overjoyed by his display in this early ‘Fight of the Year’ contender and the entertainment he’s given his fellow Arizonans. 

Gaethje’s balls-to-the-wall brawling style has now returned 11 finishes by strikes in an undefeated 14-fight career. He believes his fondness for a firefight has helped his star to rise faster than it could have if he played it safe and tried to grind out decision wins. 

“It’s all about your mentality,” he tells Fighters Only in an exclusive interview. “I really like the way I fight because I’m able to put on a show for people. I don’t actually take as many shots to the head as it seems so I usually feel pretty good after a fight.

“Guys who aren’t finishing fights aren’t doing the best for their careers. Fans don’t want to see boring fights and if you’re known as a boring fighter people aren’t going to want to see you fight. We’re in this business to make money and be exciting and if you’re not here to do that then you’re wasting your time.”

There was no danger of boredom for the WSOF 19 audience. They were on their feet from the opening seconds of Gaethje’s headline bout with Palamino, raising their voices for each exchange until the Grudge Training Center product hammered in the coffin nails to finally bury his opponent. It was probably only his nearest and dearest that weren’t thrilled with the toe-to-toe warfare on display. 

“Sometimes (my family) find it difficult and they’re on the edge of their seats, especially my mom, my sister, my girlfriend and even my dad too,” he says. “They get really nervous and that’s the most difficult part, but I like it.”

Though Gaethje might make his family wince as he’s going to work, they’re still his biggest supporters, and they have been since they watched him wrestle from the age of four in Safford, Arizona. 

Many of his relatives – including his grandfathers, father and twin brother Marcus – have ties to the copper mines there, but Justin knew the small-town life wasn’t for him after he crossed state lines to wrestle for the University of Northern Colorado – not least because he found his calling as a fighter.

After college, Denver became Gaethje’s surrogate home and he built a special relationship with Grudge head coach, Trevor Wittman. His track record of turning elite wrestlers into heavy-handed finishers – like former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and former interim UFC heavyweight titleholder Shane Carwin – meant he was the perfect man to mold this raw talent into another world beater.

When Gaethje first stepped onto his mentor’s mats as a skilled Division I All-American wrestler with raw striking ability, Wittman knew exactly how to turn him into a fighter whose opponents feared both his wrestling and striking in equal measure.

“My striking skills are all because of coach Wittman,” Gaethje says. “I always liked to strike, but he really sharpened my game. It’s really his emphasis on footwork, which sets him apart from a lot of other coaches. I’m really athletic so he just built on my skills.

“I’m really lucky because I have the best coach for me, who’s molding me into a really good fighter. I’ve still got a long way to go because I’ve only been fighting professionally for four years. Other than that, I’d barely been in a fight and I’d never even kicked anybody. 

“I had no idea about any of that stuff. It still feels new and I’m still learning. I see progression every time I fight and it’s because of the training I have. I know that I’ve only got to listen to my coaches.”

Strikes are now the foundation of Gaethje’s game. In fact, his opponents are more likely to find themselves on the canvas because of a perfectly placed punch instead of an explosive double-leg. It’s an exciting style that has helped him to draw eyeballs to WSOF.

Gaethje knows his stock only increases with every impressive victory and he now stands out as one of the faces of the organization. That’s pricked the ears of matchmakers from the sport’s biggest promotions, and with the end of his contract in sight, he has a big decision to make in 2015 that could shape the future of his career. Although he’s happy in the WSOF, he’s keeping his options open. 

“The World Series of Fighting bosses have taken really good care of me. I fought three times last year so I can’t complain whatsoever. I love the exposure I’ve received from the company and they’re all really good people. They’ve given me so many great opportunities and I’m very thankful for that. 

“I’ve got one more fight on my contract, so we’ll see if I’m going to do another three-fight deal with them or complete my last fight and see what Bellator or the UFC have to offer. I’m just trying to weigh up my options right now and see what happens.”

Though he’s faced some testing challenges under the WSOF banner, the competition will only get stronger if Gaethje does make the leap to one of the sport’s two biggest MMA players. However, he’s confident he fits the description of a fighter who can fit right in with the division’s elite.

“I genuinely believe I’m fighting in the strongest weight class,” he says. “There’s a lot of great athletes in the division. Every single top 155lb’er has to be well-rounded; they have to have the power to knock somebody out, they need to be fast and strong and they’ve got to be good when the fight goes to the ground. 

“We’re lucky because we’ve got the power the big guys have, but we’ve got speed too. There are so many great fighters with incredible attributes and the lightweight division is one of the toughest weight classes in the world. When it comes to MMA, if you’re at the top of your game then you’re a tough motherf**ker.”

Not only does Gaethje think he fits that bill, he thinks he belongs at the top of it as the best in the world. And he might get the chance to prove it very soon.