Video – Justin Gaethje returns to the gym 6 weeks after his brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway
Six weeks removed from his brutal knockout loss at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje is already back in the gym.
After claiming the BMF title with a sensational second-round head-kick KO against Dustin Poirier last summer, ‘The Highlight’ became the first man to defend the bragging rights belt. Featuring at the promotion’s landmark event on April 13, Gaethje stepped inside the Octagon with former featherweight champion Max Holloway and delivered an instant classic.
Unfortunately, things would not go Gaethje’s way as the former interim titleholder suffered a brutal buzzer-beating knockout, ending his short run with the BMF belt and effectively taking him out of the lightweight title picture for the time being.
Less than two months removed from the four-minute and 49-second war, Justin Gaethje is already trying to get back into the swing of things, courtesy of a video clip shared on the fan favorites’ Instagram.
“Trying to get back in the routine, ” he wrote.
What’s next for Justin Gaethje?
We’re still a long way off from seeing Justin Gaethje back inside the Octagon as he previously told MMA Hangout that he wanted to take at least six months off before jumping back into full-on training.
“Metaphorically, I could be ready tomorrow, but physically, I do want to take care of myself,” Gaethje said. “I do think that repeated concussions, with me going to sleep like that, me receiving that shot, it would be foolish for me to jump back into training anytime before 180 days.
“I could do cardio, I can stay in shape, that’s what I want to try and do — especially [with] the older I get, the harder it is to get back to the best shape of my life, so I want to stay active. Obviously, the physical contact is going to be limited for quite some time, just because I want to preserve myself. … I think six months, at least, before I get back to taking shots. But that doesn’t say that I won’t be training the whole time” (h/t MMA Fighting).
Who he faces in his inevitable return will ultimately come down to how things play out at the top of the division over the next several months.
On Saturday, June 1, reigning lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev is scheduled to defend his title against two-time Gaethje opponent Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 headliner. It will likely be Poirier’s final shot at gold as ‘The Diamond’ has already been talking about retirement following the fight — win or lose.
Should Makhachev survive ‘The Diamond,’ he’ll likely find himself paired up with No. 1 ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan this October when the UFC makes its annual fall pit stop in Abu Dhabi.
How those two fights shake out will determine what comes next for Gaethje and ‘The Highlight’ guns for one more shot at the 155-pound crown before laying down his own gloves.
