With UFC 274 coming up this weekend, lightweight title contender Justin Gaethje has issued a warning to the reigning champ, Charles Oliveira. Oliveira will “walk through Hell,” Gaethje told ESPN, in Saturday night’s main event.
“I’m going to be perfect, and I’m going to be perfect for 25 minutes. If he can beat me, then kudos to him, but he’s going to have to walk through hell, like Khabib did.
Gaethje: Oliveira will “Walk Through Hell” at UFC 274
But he’s not as powerful, he doesn’t have the structure, he doesn’t have the frame, and he doesn’t have explosive takedowns. He’s going to have to find me making a mistake, overreaching, and try to get into a grappling situation.
Outside that, he better be praying every day that he gets me to the ground, because if not, it’s gonna be the same night as [Michael] Chandler, except five rounds. And if I went five rounds with Chandler, he would have died, and that’s the truth. So I’m glad we didn’t go five rounds.”
Gaethje’s last title challenge, against Khabib Nurmagomedov, ended in disappointment for “The Highlight,” when he succumbed to a submission at the hands of the Russian champion. He has since chased the title, and in doing so has talked a lot of smack about Charles Oliveira. His main prediction for UFC 274 is that the champ will try to repeat Khabib’s feat and submit him, which Gaethje said simply isn’t an option.
“I wasn’t being overly critical, I wasn’t saying he was a bad champion, I was saying that in the times that he’s lost, he didn’t even get knocked out, he quit sometimes.
The choice to quit is something one makes, and once you make it, you can make it again, because you know that it’s there. I don’t believe I’ve ever made that choice.
Some people haven’t and I believe some people have. I believe that he has, and that’s all I was saying. I believe, deep down, he knows his way out, and that’s to quit whenever he gets hit too many times too hard.
All those assessments were of a younger man. He’s [32] years old, he’s a man now, with confidence. A man with confidence is a dangerous man and he’s not the same man that I was referencing.
But, again, deep down, once it happened once it will happen again, and I’m the perfect guy to show it to him. And I will show it to him May 7. I’ve got to stay out of grappling positions, obviously, but I’m going to put a hole right in his face and it’s going to be glorious.”
Will Gaethje manage where others have failed and take Charles Oliveira’s lightweight belt? Let us know in the comments.
