Justin Gaethje’s Nickname ‘The Highlight’: Origin & Meaning Behind the UFC Star’s Moniker

UFC lightweight and BMF Champion, Justin Gaethje, will take on the former UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway, this weekend at UFC 300. Given that both fighters are two of the most riveting fighters to watch, the only problem that fans seem to be facing is who to root for during the matchup. The fact that both the fighters seem to be good friends or at least like each other makes the fight ever so bittersweet.

Justin Gaethje has been in the MMA scene for over 13 years. And in those years, the 35-year-old managed to build quite an incredible reputation for himself, even earning himself the fight moniker of “The Highlight”. But why was the fight moniker given to him?

Why is Justin Gaethje called ‘The Highlight’?

Justin Gaethje started his MMA career all the way back in 2011. However, before Gaethje would transition to the sport of MMA, the 35-year-old went on to have an outstanding career in wrestling. Gaethje was awarded the first person to get the Division 1 All-American honor in the UNC program, even going on to earn seventh place in the 2010 nationals.

Gaethje would transition to MMA not long after and put the crowd in awe in the amateur scene, going 7-0, winning 6 by way of finishes, which helped his claim for the fight moniker of “The Highlight”. His professional MMA debut would solidify his nickname as he would win by KO against Kevin Croom with an intense slam. While Gaethje is mostly known for his striking now, his fight style was completely different during the beginning of his career, which relied mostly on his wrestling.

Gaethje has 25 wins on his professional MMA record and has an 84% finish rate. with 80% or 20 of his fights ending by KO/TKO. However, unfortunately for Justin Gaethje, “The Highlight” isn’t the only nickname that he had been given.

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When Colby Covington gave Gaethje another nickname

The former UFC welterweight interim champion, Colby “Chaos” Covington, is notoriously known for giving the fighters he dislikes nicknames. At one point in time, the beloved fighter who embodies chaos, Justin Gaethje, was the target of the self-proclaimed “America’s Champ”.

During a recap of the UFC 274 event, which was headlined by Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, “Chaos” managed to come up with a nickname for the title challenger at the time. During Covington’s recap of the event, he coined the nickname “Duck Lip” for the UFC lightweight, while warning Gaethje of getting inside the octagon with “Chaos”.

The insult was most presumably due to Gaethje’s comments about Covington during a podcast episode with the Nelk Boys. He said, “We all heard what you said to the Nelk Boys, Gaethje,” Covington said. “And even though you’re dumber than a bag of rocks, at least you’re smart enough to know if we ever get locked into a cage, I’d beat the absolute ever-living s*** out of you, junior.”

What did you make of Justin Gaethje’sfighte monikers? Do you believe that he will get a win against Max Holloway this weekend at UFC 300? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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