UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje has made it clear that he wouldn’t be happy to be offered a fight against Paddy Pimblett ahead of a title showdown with Ilia Topuria.
For a while now, Justin Gaethje has clearly been feeling quite frustrated. He’s made no secret of the fact that he believes he should be competing for the world title, and he’s eager to get his opportunity to face Ilia Topuria. Alas, at this point in time, it doesn’t appear as if that’s the direction the UFC wants to go in.
Instead, Justin Gaethje is in a bit of a stalemate with the promotion. There’s every chance he’ll earn another crack at the belt before he hangs up his gloves for good, but there’s certainly no guarantee behind it. Instead, some have suggested he could take part in a title eliminator against Paddy Pimblett.
In a recent interview, Justin Gaethje made it known that he wouldn’t be interested in that fight.
Justin Gaethje doesn’t want to fight Paddy Pimblett
“Absolutely not (fighting Pimblett),” Gaethje said. “If that’s the route that they want me to take, then I don’t believe that they need me anymore. I know that sounds petty or whatever, but I’m No. 3, I’m 3-1 in my last four, the champion (Islam Makhachev) was calling to fight me and he vacated. They bring a new guy in and give a guy who is 2-2 the fight. If their algorithm and their match tells them to just use me until I get beat, then I’m going to have to really reevaluate what I’m doing here.
“I’ve signed up for a merit-based system. I have lived by that. If they want to give Arman, which Arman had the fight, then I had the fight and I took someone else. He had the fight and pulled out. Those are two different scenarios. For me to get put in the same position and fight for my spot, then I’m going to be upset about that.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
