Justin Gaethje‘s UFC 300 war with Max Holloway is one of the greatest fights of all time! An absolute bloodfest, the bout went down to the wire with ‘Blessed’ knocking out ‘The Highlight’ cold in the dying seconds of the contest. And as the former BMF title holder gears up for his first fight since then, which happens to be a short-notice rematch with Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313, a clip from immediately after his UFC 300 loss has reminded him of exactly what is at stake.

In a video shared on X by ‘Upfront MMA’, Gaethje, who is down on the ground after getting knocked out, could be seen bleeding profusely from his nose, leaving a puddle of blood where he lay almost lifeless on the ground. You can also see him twitching, and being unresponsive to instructions from his coach, which was probably because his brain and nervous system were still recovering from the knockout.

But Gaethje is undeterred. “Great reminder of what’s at stake. Live by the sword die by the sword. It’s all I know.,” the former 155lbs interim champ wrote in reaction to the clip.

Gaethje, thankfully, recognizes just how serious that knockout was. After all, a couple more of those and ‘The Highlight’ may get permanent brain damage, which could haunt him for the rest of his life. But the Arizona native is intent on making sure that doesn’t happen. “I ain’t going out like that. But if it happens again, I’m sure that will be it,” Gaethje said recently. But risky as the sport may be, the former BMF champ is only going to get more aggressive.

Justin Gaethje promises new approach going into UFC 313

“I think I fell into a tendency to not move forward as much as I should… Through Chandler and Fiziev, you know, I kind of found success with being safer and ultimately that’s not the answer… I think the last fight [UFC 300] really highlighted [my safer approach to fighting],” he told ‘Shak MMA’ in an interview earlier this week.

And the lightweight star is determined to change that. “If you look at the champions, they’re moving forward 70 to 80% of the time and I think that has to be implemented if you want to be successful in this sport,” Gaethje added.

This means that at UFC 313, Justin Gaethje, already one of the most willing-to-throw-down fighters in the sport, will be even more aggressive. And if it comes off, the former interim champ is almost sure to get a title shot. 155lbs kingpin Islam Makhachev has already said he wants to fight ‘The Highlight’ in July. But this more aggressive approach, of course, will mean Gaethje is taking more risk, which might cost him a title shot.

Lesser men may change their minds and play it safe. But not Justin Gaethje, who, more than anything else, is a warrior at heart. What do you think about Justin Gaethje’s brave comments ahead of UFC 313?