Justin Gaethje will take an extended break after UFC 300.
Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was knocked out by Max Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in an iconic last-second submission less than two weeks ago in Las Vegas. The Gaethje fighter wants to compete again soon, but knows it’s better to let his brain recover after a cold.
“Metaphorically, I could be ready tomorrow, but physically I think, again, I want to take care of myself,” Gaethje said in “The MMA Hangout.” “I really think that repeated concussions, you know, with me going to sleep like that, getting that shot, it would be foolish to go back to training any time before 180 days. I could do cardio. I can get in shape.
“That’s what I want to try to do. Especially the older I get, the harder it is to get back into the best shape of my life. So, I want to stay active, but obviously physical contact will be limited for a long time just because I want to preserve myself. I have been doing this for a long time. I think it’s at least six months before I start shooting again, but that doesn’t mean I won’t train all the time. We’ll see. It’s a crazy game, see how the fight between Dustin (Poirier) and (Islam) Makhachev goes, crazy game.”
Gaethje also broke his nose at the end of the first round thanks to a spinning kick from Holloway. However, “The Highlight” states that this did not impact his performance in the fight.
“The crazy thing was the last second, none of my coaches that were coming into the cage saw it happen,” Gaethje said. “They were pushing their way into the cage. They need to pull themselves together, gather the bucket, gather the ice. So they didn’t see it coming.
“I sat down and the coach said, ‘What the hell happened? You broke your nose. I was feeling my nose. I was trying to see how crooked it was. It was the first time I broke my nose in a fight. … I don’t think so (it affected my breathing). I mean, I felt really good there. I felt amazing there.”
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