Will MMA fans see return of ‘WSOF Gaethje’ in UFC 313 co-main event?

Every now and then within the insane sport of combined martial arts, a legendary character or “legendary fighter” will emerge and seize the hearts and minds of hardcore struggle followers.

“Sea-level Cain Velasquez,” “TRT Vitor Belfort” and “Motivated B.J. Penn” have been three of the extra generally used colloquialisms over time and this weekend at UFC 313 we may even see the return of one other: “WSOF Justin Gaethje.”

Velasquez, a former heavyweight champion identified for an unusually excessive output and mainly a vast fuel tank, was on his method to being thought-about the division’s biggest expertise earlier than he misplaced his title in Mexico Metropolis in a bout throughout which his legendary cardio failed him at elevation.

Belfort was the poster boy for the period when it was authorized and considerably commonplace for growing older fighters to obtain a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone substitute remedy (TRT). Belfort had a infamous run of success in 2013 that noticed him rack up consecutive head-kick knockout wins over Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson earlier than TRT exceptions have been banned in 2014 after which Belfort went on to lose 4 of his subsequent six fights all by knockout earlier than retiring from MMA.

Penn, in the meantime, was blessed with a pure combating prowess hardly ever seen and, at instances, appeared like the highest pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. Nevertheless, Penn didn’t at all times take his coaching and eating regimen significantly and a virtuoso efficiency would sometimes get replaced by a dud outing that left followers scratching their heads and questioning the Hawaiian star’s motivation.

One “legendary fighter” from current years is the persona Gaethje developed throughout his time within the World Collection of Combating group within the early portion of his profession. Gaethje has teased the return of that model of himself this weekend.

Gaethje fought 10 instances in WSOF, which later modified its model to Skilled Fighters League or PFL MMA. He ended up going 10-0, profitable the promotion’s inaugural light-weight title and defending it 5 instances earlier than leaving to start his UFC profession.

Alongside the way in which, Gaethje earned the nickname “The Spotlight” due to his all-action, all-offence combating model and his willingness to eat his opponent’s finest photographs to land one among his personal. 9 of his 10 WSOF wins have been both by knockout or technical knockout and any that lasted longer than a pair minutes have been assured to be fireworks from the opening bell.

His sequence of scraps with Luis Palomino have been significantly memorable.

Frequent haymakers, vicious uppercuts, knees and chopping leg kicks from the clinch, plus an iron chin and high-level wrestling to assist together with his takedown defence made Gaethje one of the crucial well-liked and touted fighters exterior the UFC in the course of the mid-2010s.

Capping off his wins by doing a backflip off the highest of the cage turned his signature celebration.

Gaethje made his UFC debut in 2017 with a Struggle of the 12 months efficiency and a knockout win over Michael Johnson that served as an ideal introduction to what Gaethje might convey to the UFC roster.

Gaethje’s win over Johnson improved his report to 18-0 on the time however he was completed by Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier 5 months aside in December 2017 and April 2018.

Consecutive first-round knockout wins over James Vick, Edson Barboza and Donald Cerrone received Gaethje again close to the highest of the division, and in 2020, he snapped Tony Ferguson’s notorious 12-fight profitable streak to earn an interim UFC light-weight title.

Quantifiably probably the most guaranteed-action fighter within the UFC, Gaethje has earned 13 whole efficiency bonuses throughout his 13 UFC appearances. It wasn’t till the 2020s that Gaethje actually started to refine his talent set and implement a barely extra reserved and tactical method to his matchups.

Gaethje was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov of their UFC 254 title unification bout, rebounded with a three-round unanimous resolution win over Michael Chandler in his lone 2021 struggle and was submitted by Charles Oliveira in his solely 2022 look.

Gaethje’s 2023 marketing campaign started with a memorable three-round majority resolution Struggle of the Night time win over Rafael Fiziev – the person he’ll face Saturday in Las Vegas in a rematch – and noticed him earn the BMF Title with a head-kick KO of Dustin Poirier that avenged a earlier loss.

His most up-to-date outing noticed him exit on his defend, shedding within the literal final second of his BMF Title match with Max Holloway at UFC 300 roughly 11 months in the past.

Gaethje has not fought since being faceplanted however don’t count on a extra conservative recreation plan from the fan favorite when he enters the Octagon on Saturday.

Actually, the 155-pound brawler has been saying all week that followers can count on him to struggle with a extra aggressive recreation plan than what he has been utilizing these days. 

“I discovered success within the Chandler struggle and the Fiziev struggle form of by being extra passive than I ever was,” Gaethje told TNT Sports. “I was a really aggressive, and a really ahead fighter, and in my thoughts, I targeting not getting hit, not taking injury. On the finish of the struggle, their face was nonetheless jacked up and I used to be getting the win and so I believe I purchased into that model a bit an excessive amount of, and particularly in opposition to a man like Max Holloway who’s so quick, who cowl vary so effectively, and it actually bit me within the ass that night time. …

“If you happen to watched me in World Collection of Combating, I believe I’ve to faucet into that man slightly bit extra.”

Gaethje earned an entertaining win over Fiziev at UFC 286 two years in the past in London, England in a 15-minute tilt that noticed each fighters exhibit their energy by touchdown huge punches and big kicks to the physique.

Fiziev’s lone look since dealing with Gaethje was a brutal outing in September 2023 that noticed him blow out his knee halfway via a bout with Mateusz Gamrot.

Previous to his present two-fight skid, Fiziev was having fun with a six-fight profitable streak. Together with the Struggle of the Night time bonus he earned from his first bout with Gaethje, Fiziev has earned further Struggle of the Night time awards for resolution wins over Bobby Inexperienced and Marc Diakiese plus efficiency of the night time bonuses for knockout wins over Renato Moicano, Brad Riddell and Rafael dos Anjos.

The 32-year-old Muay Thai-style striker has additionally developed a repute for being prepared to interact in an aggressive hanging match with anybody within the division.

All that’s to say the UFC 313 co-main occasion is shaping as much as be fairly the spectacle. 

GREEN ALSO READY TO THROW DOWN

Fellow veteran light-weight Bobby “King” Inexperienced has additionally alluded to reverting again to a rawer combating model he calls his “hood” combating model when he faces the rising Mauricio Ruffy on the UFC 313 major card.

“I convey the road to you, like, I’m combating you want we’re going to struggle within the streets,” Inexperienced advised Sportsnet earlier this week when talking about his combating model.

The 38-year-old veteran of fifty professional bouts is coming off a one-sided first-round submission loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 304 final July in England that he has described as humbling and tough to recover from. 

“I felt like I misplaced a Tremendous Bowl,” Inexperienced stated Wednesday at UFC 313 media day in Las Vegas.

Inexperienced is a major underdog in opposition to Ruffy, a touted 28-year-old from Brazil whose combating model has been in comparison with Conor McGregor’s.