Justin Gaethje shows off gruesome injury one week after Rafael Fiziev UFC 313 rematch
Yesterday at 05:54 PM
Former BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje shared images of a pair of nasty lacerations he suffered at UFC 313.
UFC fan favorite Justin Gaethje got back in the win column with an impressive performance at UFC 313 but ended up paying a hefty price for it.
Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev by unanimous decision in a bounce-back performance in the UFC 313 co-main event earlier this month. It was his first Octagon appearance since a buzzer-beating knockout defeat to Max Holloway at UFC 300, relinquishing the BMF belt.
In the aftermath of UFC 313, Gaethje alluded to potential injuries to his toes after the win over Fiziev. A week later, we have some clarity as to what happened to the UFC superstar that he had to power through in his decisive victory.
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Justin Gaethje shares gnarly battle scars from UFC 313 victory
In a recent post to his Instagram story, Gaethje shared nasty blisters on his toes he suffered in his victory over Fiziev.
“They already showed you my feet on television so here they are 1 week after the fight,” Gaethje commented. “This is from dragging my feet on the canvas when I throw punches.
“You do not want to be an ultimate fighter.”
Luckily, it doesn’t look like Gaethje will miss an extended period after UFC 313. Gaethje called for a title shot in a recent social media message to Dana White as Islam Makhachev’s next title challenger remains up in the air.
It’s a sigh of relief after Gaethje took almost a full year away from the cage to recover from the damage suffered against Holloway at UFC 300. He didn’t spar for months after UFC 300 to fully recover and prepare adequately for his eventual comeback fight.
Some doubted whether or not Gaethje would be able to return to his winning ways after the shocking knockout loss. But against a short-notice replacement in Fiziev, Gaethje showed a different level to his arsenal.
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A top lightweight countered Justin Gaethje’s title shot callout
After Gaethje’s public ultimatum to White, it didn’t take long for other contenders to make their title shot cases to counter him. Arman Tsarukyan, who was supposed to face Makhachev at UFC 311 in January, pitched a No. 1 contender fight with Gaethje.
Tsarukyan questioned Gaethje’s position that his most recent defeat to Holloway was ‘an exhibition’, describing the knockout as the BMF champ getting ‘sent to the shadow realm’. Gaethje didn’t respond to Tsarukyan’s taunts but envisions a return to the Octagon this summer.
If Gaethje gets the next lightweight title shot, he understands the massive challenge that awaits him. He praised Makhachev’s skillset and admitted he’ll have to be close to perfect to dethrone the UFC’s pound-for-pound king.
Gaethje is 0-2 in lineal UFC title fights during his career, with losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. After a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier was briefly proposed, it didn’t take long for Gaethje to shut it down.
After his triumphant performance at UFC 313, Gaethje has plenty of options for his next opponent. But the evasive UFC championship belt is at the top of his hit list.
