When you think of the most entertaining fighter, for most people, the first thought that comes to their head is none other than ‘The Highlight’ himself.
Justin Gaethje has constantly been through the back-and-forth wars, which have always impressed MMA fans.
But the 37-year-old is also known as one of the top lightweights in the world, constantly facing tough opponents in every matchup.
On Saturday night, the American competes for the interim lightweight championship, a position he has held before.
Battle against ‘El Cucuy’ for interim gold
UFC 249 was originally supposed to take place in April 2020 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.
In this hyped up event, Tony Ferguson challenged the undefeated UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Sadly, the matchup would not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions it would have on the Russian.
The event was moved to May 9, and Gaethje would be called in to face a fellow American for the interim lightweight title.
El Cucuy was on an impressive 12-fight win streak, picking up recognisable victories over Rafael dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone.
But, the Californian’s biggest win came at UFC 216, where he submitted Kevin Lee with a Triangle Choke to win the interim lightweight title.
This was then meant to set up an undisputed championship fight with Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 in April 2018, but a replacement had to be made after Ferguson injured himself just days before the anticipated bout.
The Highlight was only on a three-fight triumphant streak, earning three successive first-round knockouts to claim his opportunity.
Gaethje’s five-round war with Ferguson was nothing but brutal and one-sided in what could be regarded as a hard watch.
The Arizona-born KO artist was landing multiple heavy strikes, which were gradually slowing the former interim champion, despite not landing a knockdown.
Eventually, with less than 90 seconds left of the fifth round, the fight was stopped, and Gaethje won by TKO, earning a guaranteed shot at the undisputed belt.
It was a huge surprise that a 155-pound contender could badly damage and stop Ferguson, since El Cucuy was known for taking a lot of damage and had never been knocked out in his career.
Challenging for the undisputed title
After the credible win of his UFC career, Gaethje got his opportunity to face the King of the Lightweights at UFC 254.
The interim champion was actually winning the battle after round one, since two of the judges had the first round to The Highlight due to his striking accuracy.
Unfortunately for the Safford-born fighter, he would get submitted by a Triangle Choke in round two, making it Nurmagomedov’s last performance in the Octagon before retirement.
However, after bouncing back with a decision win over Michael Chandler at MSG, Gaethje earned another shot for undisputed gold against a different champion.
At UFC 274, the knockout artist went head-to-head with Charles Oliveira in what was a one-round barnburner.
Gaethje suffered another submission loss, this time by a Rear-Naked Choke in the first round, which would once again place him out of title contention.
Since then, the fan-favourite has gone on redeem himself against Rafael Fiziev in London, win the BMF title against Dustin Poirier, lose the same belt to Max Holloway at UFC 300, before bouncing back to victory over Fiziev.
With his eyes set on Paddy Pimblett this weekend, Gaethje seems to be in a favourable position, judging by his experience, as a triumphant night in Las Vegas will give him one last shot at the undisputed dream before confirming his retirement.