“Just a Little Bit of Respect Would Be Great” – Justin Gaethje Upset With the UFC

Justin Gaethje is upset with the UFC for booking him in another short-notice fight.

The journey to UFC 249 was riddled with obstacles. When lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov pulled out of his scheduled bout against Tony Ferguson, Gaethje stepped in as a replacement. Soon after the announcement of Gaethje vs Ferguson, the event was postponed, as Disney and ESPN interfered.

However, Ferguson continued to train and cut weight for the canceled bout. Gaethje, on the other hand, eased things a bit. The ‘Highlight’ enjoyed some ice cream, and seemingly returned to his normal life. Unfortunately for him, the company announced that UFC 249 is back on.

Justin Gaethje is upset with the UFC

According to Gaethje, he found out about the news on the internet.

“ I saw that Dana White had said that he was having this card (May 9), and I was the main event. And I was like ‘What the hell!’ ”

Gaethje has always been against fighting on short notice. He felt disrespected when the UFC booked him to compete for the second time against Ferguson.

“To be honest with you, I was a little bit upset. Because I have always told them that I don’t wanna fight on short training camps.” Justin Gaethje told Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Being a company man, Gaethje refused to blame the UFC. But he did mention that both of the circumstances—April 18 and May 9—were different. And the UFC should have consulted with him before setting up the fight.

Instead, the company announced it to the media, as a way of pressurizing the fighters. Gaethje received the call when he was on a freeway, replacing his blown-out tire. Immediately, he called up his manager (Ali Abdelaziz) and expressed his frustration with the UFC.

“Just a little bit of respect would be great,” Gaethje said.

Furthermore, he contradicted his earlier statement and said that he would have fought for a world title on a day’s notice.

Tony is a cardio machine; accepting a short notice bout can severely compromise Gaethje. If Justin does not keep up with the pace, Ferguson will eventually take over the fight.