Justin Gaethje’s latest bid for the UFC lightweight title, against Charles Oliveira, ended in heartbreak for “The Highlight”. Oliveira managed to submit Gaethje early in the fight, but the UFC lightweight revealed at the UFC 281 pre-fight media day that a “vicious crash” on his bike almost derailed the fight completely.
“Life’s crazy, man. Nobody knows what we go through. My dumb ass, 18 days before I fought Charles, I was riding my bicycle to the gas station to get some nicotine patches, and I had a vicious crash on my bike. Smoked my head off the road, road rash all down my back, and then go in there and took that damage that I took in that fight. That’s why I’m taking so much time off.
Gaethje Was in ‘Vicious Crash’ on Bicycle Ahead of Oliveira Fight
It’s just crazy what we go through. Each and every one of us has different circumstances. That was such a hurdle in my last [fight]. As soon as it happened I had to go home and act like it didn’t happen, act like my vision didn’t go 100 percent f***** up for two seconds. And that’s what we’ve been doing since we were kids. You put that doubt aside. And as soon as it happened, it was like, ‘OK, what do I do next? How do I continue to improve and continue to be ready for this fight?’”
Gaethje continued, describing the injuries he sustained in the crash and how they affected his fight preparation. “I wasn’t doing anything stupid. My pedal snapped off, when I was riding. It was just crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. Stupid is what it was. I was 12 weeks into a camp.
All I know is to compete, you know? I don’t let myself feel anything. I try to take away the emotions so I’m constantly either running from it, or I feel like I can control it. But in that instance I was like, ‘Oh, I f***** up. This is not good.’ But I didn’t feel compromised externally. Not even internally, because at that moment I was ready for war.
I had a crazy rug burn. I was lubing myself up all day, every day, trying to get it to go away, and it went away really, really well. But it was f****** stupid is what it was, at the end of the day. But I had put so much work in, there was no chance I wasn’t — I’ve never backed out of a fight. I didn’t feel I needed to then, I still don’t think I should have, and I’m glad I didn’t. That was a great fight. It was very emotional because I was at home. I think that’s the mistake I made, I let the moment get to me, and that’s the lesson you learn.”
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