Gaethje won many fans in his losses, but..

I'd love to see that stats showing how many concussive power shots he's taken in, say, his last 10 fights. I don't even want to see him in 5 more fights.
 
Even Conor McGregor acknowledged Gaethje-Johnson fight, and he is the guy who is making a living of calling other people bums for any reason lol. Deep down inside a lot of MMA guys are jealous of Gaethje, because they all talk being warriors, fighting to the death, while picking fights and protecting their brand. Gaethje is literally the complete opposite. Even the most embarrassing loss, like a quick first round tap to strikes would still look good on him (although the chances of him tapping to strikes are extremely low).

Obviously there is a downside to it - he is not the best ambassador to the sport per se, cause his style of fighting is not very... inviting for the MMA to become mainstream... he is an outlaw.

Also there is another small problem with his style - he may find himself on the wrong side of judges cards due to all the punches he absorbs and lose a close decision, also his style basically invites cautious ref to stop the fight early.
 
TCanaveira said:
Yep. Everyone feels the same about him. Fortunately he said he's only going to fight 5 more times. But he should atleast TRY to use his wrestling in his next fight.
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If he doesn't want to use his wrestling, then he should work on his head movement and defense in general. He's got to be willing to evolve, but I don't think he is.
 
You can never really tell, sure he ships alot but some guys can, Jake Lamotta died recently aged 95 and was performing on stage at 90.
 
honestly, I hope he's bunking in with somebody and just saving all his fight money, can't see a 30 year old living for the rest of his life off MMA money especially with such a short career.
 
You guys only like his style because he's white. If he was black with that style and 2 losses in a row yall would eat him alive.
 
The object in pro sports is to win. Participation ribbons don’t do much for me. Proving you can take a beating isn’t very impressive. In a sport like mma. All that gets you is brain damage.
 
For me, it's not his reluctance to rely on his wrestling. It's that he just covers up and stands there.
I feel like i'm watching a Rocky movie. I bet he'd get hit a fraction of the time if he started employing just the slightest bit of head movement.

Also he needs to move down to FW.
 
jojoRed said:
Except he's 1-2 in the UFC. He beat MJ.

He might be the GOAT 1-2 fighter in the UFC. If you dont like Justin, you dont like just-bleed fights.
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Him and Lando would be a crazy fight!
 
Greyscale said:
I must admit I never followed Gaethje during his time in the lesser leagues, and I got to know the guy in the two fights he actually lost.

Win or lose, you can't help but admire him. His style is super fan-friendly. That said, it doesn't seem to work in the upper echelon. You just can't absorb countless shots from top-tier lightweights and hope not to end up in a wheelchair in another year. So I really feel bad for Gaethje. His total disregard for his own health will cost him dearly in the long run. Look at what happened to Junior dos Santos after Sea Level Cain fights.

And it's not really like Justin is a one-trick pony with banging and blocking shots with his forehead being his only choice. He has Division I wrestling for Christ's sake and never puts it to use. This is ridiculous. Of all lightweights, he may very well be the least stylistically convenient matchup for Nurmagomedov, but getting beat up in each and every appearance won't get him there.

I really like his penchant for being entertaining. It's a valuable asset amid woodleys and other super-boring fighters plaguing the today's sport of MMA. But I would really prefer seeing him fight smarter fights. A couple of takedowns wouldn't take the fun away but could really make the difference as to the outcome. It would certainly extend his life expectancy as a fighter beyond the five fights he mentioned.
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Justin only has 4 or 5 more fights left on his contract then he said he's retiring from fighting, he'll be alright. He also said he's not changing, he's not in it to win a belt, but to entertain the fans. He doesn't care if he loses like his fans care about.
 
just imagine if he had head movement like Frazier.



if he could encompass that into his game and still have the footwork to continue throwing those low kick bombs, it would be pretty special.

alas, he won't learn that in a year.
 
i hope the guy is at least getting paid for being entertaining
 
Not just the wrestling. His defense is ridiculous. Put his arms on his forehead and stands still.

Poirier would tap him like 5-6 times with small jabs and not a movement. Hit him numerous times with uppercuts trough his guard.

Gaethje is fun as fuck, but he could fight smarter without losing his style.
 
SeattleFightFan said:
just imagine if he had head movement like Frazier.



if he could encompass that into his game and still have the footwork to continue throwing those low kick bombs, it would be pretty special.

alas, he won't learn that in a year.
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Love me some Smokin Joe!
Does seem like a style that Justin could integrate into his if he wanted to. Like you said though, he won’t learn it in a year.
 
Lost me as a fan after the two eye pokes. Still gonna watch his fights but i cant cheer for him.
 
you can admire his toughness sure, but he's doing serious damage to his health on purpose.

if he's a good wrestler and never uses it then his fight IQ sucks and that's nothing to admire. add in the fact that he's going on record in interviews as saying he's doing it on purpose, and you've got a guy who's just not all there.
 
Greyscale said:
I must admit I never followed Gaethje during his time in the lesser leagues, and I got to know the guy in the two fights he actually lost.

Win or lose, you can't help but admire him. His style is super fan-friendly. That said, it doesn't seem to work in the upper echelon. You just can't absorb countless shots from top-tier lightweights and hope not to end up in a wheelchair in another year. So I really feel bad for Gaethje. His total disregard for his own health will cost him dearly in the long run. Look at what happened to Junior dos Santos after Sea Level Cain fights.

And it's not really like Justin is a one-trick pony with banging and blocking shots with his forehead being his only choice. He has Division I wrestling for Christ's sake and never puts it to use. This is ridiculous. Of all lightweights, he may very well be the least stylistically convenient matchup for Nurmagomedov, but getting beat up in each and every appearance won't get him there.

I really like his penchant for being entertaining. It's a valuable asset amid woodleys and other super-boring fighters plaguing the today's sport of MMA. But I would really prefer seeing him fight smarter fights. A couple of takedowns wouldn't take the fun away but could really make the difference as to the outcome. It would certainly extend his life expectancy as a fighter beyond the five fights he mentioned.
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I liked your post for several reasons, including the point about Gaethje probably beating Nurmagomedov.

That said, I almost took the "like" away for calling Woodley a boring fighter. Don't be that guy...
 
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