Tag: Justin Gaethje

video review : UFC Freedom 250

video review : UFC Freedom 250

They should’ve called this UFC Freedom or UFC 329 to avoid people confusing it with UFC 250, but that’s its only fault. It was promoted as the biggest UFC event ever and lives up to the hype. It’s not the best, despite every bout ending in a knockout; the first five fights were a little too predictable; but the main event is an epic.

Underdog Justin Gaethje winning the championship from Ilia Topuria on an event celebrating America; props to President Trump for making this happen; couldn’t have been scripted much better. El Matador gets gored; his corner stops the fight after a doctor stoppage is overruled by Marc Goddard; as Gaethje shocks the world.

my rating : 4 of 5

2026

video review : Michael Chandler versus Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314

video review : Michael Chandler versus Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314

I don’t even like Michael Chandler and I was rooting for him to get a knockout win here. That’s how annoying his opponent is. “Whether you hate him or love him,” Joe Rogan declares, “all eyes are on Paddy Pimblett when he fights.” The more he wins, the truer that statement becomes. Chandler is his toughest foe yet and he makes relatively easy work of him without so much as a scratch. Oh well. Maybe next time.

my rating : 4 of 5

2025

video review : UFC 300

video review : UFC 300

If we’re including all the Prelims, 300 is indeed the most stacked UFC event ever. It’s the main card that disappointed fans around the world, particularly the main event. It should’ve been Conor McGregor versus Michael Chandler. An Israel Adesanya title bout against Dricus Du Plessis or Alex Pereira would’ve also sufficed. The announcement of Pereira versus Jamahal Hill was, at best, anticlimactic.

It was also odd to include Bo Nickal; a bout that, though more competitive than expected, rather because of it, disappoints even the prospect himself. Still he remains undefeated. It gets better from there as Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira provide perhaps the best fight of the night. The best moment happens in the next bout as BMF Max Holloway ends Justin Gaethje in spectacular fashion.

The other best moment; Zhang choking Yan earns an honorable mention; is Jamahal Hill getting knocked out. He claimed, in a prefight interview, that Pereira “is not on my level”. He’s right in a sense as the bout ends with Pereira standing and Hill on his ass. The champ further marks his legacy as a future goat. Hopefully the aforementioned Adesanya trilogy (pentalogy) happens eventually.

my rating : 4 of 5

2024

video review : Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Justin Gaethje at UFC 254

video review : Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Justin Gaethje at UFC 254

“Number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world”? My reply to such a bombastic claim is probably not; there are a lot of unknown fighters in the world; but it seems Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently the best pound-for-pound fighter in The UFC. He’s also one of the best ever, which makes news of his retirement; he announces it in his post-fight interview after an emotional salute to his father; that much more impactful.

I thought Justin Gaethje’s chances of winning this bout were being overhyped by MMA fans, but he does even worse than I guessed. That’s not so much a criticism of his skills; he does manage to land a few of his “patented” leg kicks, which Nurmagomedov doesn’t have much of an answer for; but how long he lasts. At not even two full rounds, it’s the champion’s quickest victory since pummeling Thiago Tavares back in 2013.

my rating : 4 of 5

2020

video review : Tony Ferguson versus Justin Gaethje at UFC 249

video review : Tony Ferguson versus Justin Gaethje at UFC 249

Tony Ferguson should’ve waited for Khabib Nurmagomedov. That’s easy to say in hindsight, of course, but I was thinking it when their latest scheduled fight, which was supposed to take place here, was canceled for the fifth time and Justin Gaethje stepped in as a replacement.

Gaethje might, in some ways, be a harder opponent. The amount of times Ferguson gets popped with power shots clean to the face is staggering. It’s a testament to his “chin”, but, aside from a nasty uppercut at the end of Round 2, he doesn’t have much of an answer for it.

my rating : 4 of 5

2020