Justin Gaethje: I'm the 'most exciting fighter' in UFC history

UFC fighter Justin Gaethje. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Gaethje boldly claims he's the 'most exciting fighter' in UFC history

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Mar 15, 2023 5:55 PM ET

Ten fights into his UFC career, Justin Gaethje (23-4, 6-4 UFC) has 10 post-fight bonuses, and he was the first fighter in UFC history to win a bonus in his first seven fights.

For those reasons, the 34-year-old former interim lightweight champion made the bold claim Wednesday at UFC 286 media day ahead of his fight against Rafael Fiziev that no other fighter in the promotion’s 30-year history puts on a better fight than he does.

“I’m the most exciting fighter that has ever stepped in that Octagon in the history of this sport,” Gaethje said. “Of course, I pride myself on that. …I don’t just believe it, you all (the media) believe it. You know it to be true. It’s not on purpose, it’s who I am. It’s how I compete. I’m cut from this cloth, as they say.”

Gaethje is a six-time Fight of the Night winner and a four-time Performance of the Night winner. His 2017 TKO win over Michael Johnson and his 2021 unanimous-decision win over Michael Chandler both won Fight of the Year honors as well.

.@Justin_Gaethje is the most exciting fighter in UFC history...

But he's also more cerebral than he's given credit for. Gaethje vs @RafaelFiziev is the fight I'm most looking forward to at UFC 286!

Powered by @liftedtrucksaz!

FULL FILM BREAKDOWN: https://t.co/b3dUNwpGjj pic.twitter.com/WuZnhBvxyV
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) March 15, 2023

His 10 performance bonuses rank 10th all-time; Donald Cerrone and fellow lightweight contender Charles Oliveira are first with 18. Only seven fighters have won Fight of the Night and eight fighters have Performance of the Night more times than Gaethje, who only started fighting in the UFC in 2017.

Of his six UFC wins, Gaethje has finished all but one. Of his 23 career wins, 19 have been by knockout or TKO and one by submission, giving him a finish rate of 86.9. He also became the first fighter to knockout both Johnson and Tony Ferguson, and he recorded the fastest knockout of Edson Barboza (2:30).

The two fighters that Gaethje considers the second- and third-most exciting? That would be former middleweight champ Anderson Silva and heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

Silva trails only Cerrone (18), Oliveira (18), Nate Diaz (16), and Joe Lauzon (15) in post-fight bonuses. He has a UFC-record seven Knockout of the Nights. Jones has nine total bonuses including four Fight of the Nights.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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