Video: Justin Gaethje Has Been Training His Whole Life For UFC Lincoln
Lincoln, NE – “The Highlight” maybe on a two-fight losing streak, regardless Justin Gaethje has been training his whole life for UFC Lincoln’s main event.
The 29-year-old Gaethje is usually a soft-spoken, mild-mannered competitor. That is until he enters the cage, where all bets are off at that point. However, his opponent in this weekend’s UFC Lincoln main event James Vick has managed to get under his skin quite a bit.
“I don’t admire anything about his fighting style,” Gaethje told LowkickMMA and other press in attendance for UFC Lincoln’s media day.
“[He’s a] Point fighter, constantly going backward,” Gaethje explained. “But he’s ranked number ten in the UFC, so he’s going to be a big challenge for me. I’ve got to go out there, I’ve gotta get the W. Be a little more patient than normal, pick my shots.”
When asked if he thought Vick had any game-changing talents that he should be aware of, Gaethje offered up some mild words of encouragement.
“He doesn’t like to get hit. He gets hit going backward, and that’s the worst way to get hit. So when I do touch him, he’s going to feel it.” [However] “He’s got good D’arce chokes, good guillotine chokes, I don’t need to stick my neck in one of those.””
Since entering the UFC “The Highlight” has gone 1-2. Although he has dropped his last two in a row Gaethje remains one of the most fan-friendly fighters competing in the sport. Be that as it may, ‘The Violent One’ has come under scrutiny for not using his wrestling skills enough during his losing streak.
When asked if he might bust out the old singlet Gaethje said, “No, I don’t know. I have no idea. I go in there, I’m definitely going to put pressure on him. “I’m going to pressure him with my feet. I don’t necessarily need to throw as much, but I’m going to pressure him with my feet, he’s going to be constantly going backward, which is a given with James.”
Gaethje’s plan to pressure “The Texecutioner” could bode well for the former WSOF champion. Beneil Dariush employed a similar strategy in his victory over Vick. Coincidently the last time the Texan tasted defeat.
Gaethje put it like this when asked if he is ready for the moment, “I’ve trained my whole life for this. Four years old I started training, in hindsight, for this August 25 [2018] verse James Vick.”
Watch Justin Gaethje‘s full UFC Lincoln media day scrum here:
