Will Justin Gaethje Retire?

Chael Sonnen believes Justin Gaethje will retire from the UFC if he doesn’t receive a lightweight title shot next.

Gaethje has made it clear that he will only return to the octagon for a chance at the lightweight belt, which is currently held by Ilia Topuria. The latter knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to win the vacant belt. Meanwhile, Gaethje is coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313, a strong rebound after his knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300, which cost him his BMF belt. Gaethje’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has suggested that the former title challenger may retire if he’s not granted the next lightweight title opportunity. Sonnen feels that it is a realistic possibility.

Justin’s Future

“Justin’s being very sincere, not joking or holding anyone hostage. He put all his cards on the table. Justin has never worked harder to get a world title shot at 155 pounds. Any time they need a short-notice opponent or a title opportunist, the answer is Justin Gaethje.

“Justin is standing on principle, and it sounds good, but is he right? He’s 3 wins and 1 loss in his last four fights.” “He said he appreciates that it’s star-driven business, but he believes it should be merit-based.” “He looked at the records and rankings and said it’s either him or Arman. If someone else gets the title shot, then merit-based system is not being followed, and he wants no part of that,” Sonnen said 

While that may be the case, there is a possible alternative for Justin. Arman Tsarukyan has called for a title eliminator against Gaethje. Tsarukyan was in a position to fight for the lightweight belt at UFC 311 against Islam Makhachev. However, Arman pulled out at the last minute with an injury, as he has not had a fight since then. Tsarukyan has stated that he does not want to keep waiting for the title shot, much like Justin, which could bring about a final eliminator.

The Arman Fight

“Of course I want Islam [Makhachev], but right now, it makes sense to fight with Gaethje, because he just beat the No. 11 or so [Rafael] Fiziev. He doesn’t deserve title fight. That’s 100 percent, because he just lost [to Max] Holloway. Beat, on short notice, Fiziev. Fiziev knew about the fight five days, and he won, barely, a decision. Now he’s talking about title fight.

“It’s not fair. I think he’s got to beat me to deserve to fight for the title. They offered me a fight. I said no because I want to fight ranked fighter from top 5,” Tsarukyan said. “I’m in the position, I’m not fighting for the money right now. I just want to be a champion. Now my goal is to be a champion, that’s why I’m not taking a fight I will just beat [someone]. I know I can beat everybody. Right now, I want to pick a good fight for me and get back to the title fight,” Arman stated