UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje has spoken to Joe Rogan about a reputation he’s kept during his time with Dana White’s MMA organisation.
Gaethje stepped back into the octagon earlier this month and, at 37 years old, left UFC Freedom 250 as the new lightweight champion.
The Arizona native knocked Ilia Topuria off the top of the division with an impressive performance on the UFC White House card in Washington.
Topuria, who was left bloodied after a brutal fight, also suffered his first professional defeat in what turned out to be an historic win for Gaethje.
Justin Gaethje looks back at the Michael Chandler bout and explains his complicated view of referees
After losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in 2020, Justin Gaethje made his return to the octagon in a matchup with Michael Chandler at UFC 268 in 2021.
Gaethje came out on top against Chandler, winning by unanimous decision after three rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The lightweight champion spoke about his well-known reputation with referees, pointing to the Chandler fight as a clear example of where issues can arise.
On The Joe Rogan Experience, Gaethje said: “I’ve been notorious for being really hard on these refs because you expect them to be perfect. Their main job is to protect you. When I fought Michael Chandler, I’ve never had a retraction from the referee.
“He [Chandler] poked me in the eye and then the referee didn’t get in between us. He let him hit me with a huge shot and then he didn’t give me my time to recover.”
Justin Gaethje speaks out about his frustrations during the Michael Chandler fight
Michael Chandler caught Gaethje with an accidental eye poke late in the second round, and referee Mike Beltran came over to see if Gaethje needed a break.
But a breakdown in communication between them led to a heated response from Gaethje, who felt he wasn’t properly checked after the incident.
“There were only five seconds left in the round, so it turned out I got a break anyway,” Gaethje explained to Joe Rogan.
“But he comes in and says, ‘Are you good?’ I said, ‘No, I’m not good. He just poked me in the eye.’
“He says, ‘Okay, but are you good?’ So then it’s like, ‘Can I still fight?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m good,’ and he says, ‘Okay, go.’”
Since then, Gaethje has continued to build on his career with 28 wins from 33 professional fights after beating previously unbeaten Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250.
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