“I should have got that title shot” – Justin Gaethje believes he should have fought for the vacant UFC lightweight belt

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje believes he should have been given the opportunity to fight for the title following the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Justin Gaethje has not competed in the UFC since losing to Khabib in 2020. However, he is still ranked No.2 in one of the UFC’s most competitive divisions.

It was recently announced that Gaethje will face off against Michael Chandler at UFC 268.

In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Justin Gaethje had the following to say on the current state of the division:

“Dustin Poirier’s going to fight Oliveira and now it’s clear I’ve gotta go out there and get a dub. Which has been clear the whole time, you know, I wasn’t going to fight six, seven, eight, nine, ten. It’s just not what we do. I didn’t work my way here for that.”

It is understandable that Justin Gaethje did not want to fight opponents ranked outside of the top-five, especially considering his most recent fight was against the former champion.

However, considering he was the most recent lightweight to compete for the title and to hold the interim belt beforehand, Gaethje believes he should have been put forward to fight for the vacant belt after Khabib relinquished it.

“Especially being the last guy to hold the interim title. You know, the guy (Khabib) retires. I understand having to win and all that, but nobody wants to talk about the special circumstances. Like this dude was the GOAT and he retired. I was sitting at number two with the last guy to hold the thing. So in my mind, probably biased, but you know I think I should have got that title shot. So I was a little bitter.”

Instead, Michael Chandler faced Charles Oliveira for the title. Ultimately, ‘Do Bronx’ came out on top and will almost certainly face Dustin Poirier next. As mentioned earlier, Chandler will be matched up with Gaethje in November.

You can check out the full ESPN MMA interview with Justin Gaethje below:

The impact of Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler on the lightweight division

Justin Gaethje is still ranked No.2 in the lightweight division, whilst Chandler sits at No.4. Their fight may well decide the next number one contender to face the winner of Oliveira vs. Poirier.

Beneil Dariush, who is No.3-ranked after defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 262, is also in the mix. However, he doesn’t have a fight booked and suggested he would wait a while before making his next appearance.

Islam Makhachev, considered by many to be the new Khabib, is also on the rise and is currently scheduled to fight another former champ in Rafael dos Anjos.

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