MMA Fighting - Justin Gaethje Anticipates 'Fight of the Century' With Dustin Poirier Next, Responds to Michael Bisping

Episode Date: April 4, 2023

Justin Gaethje discusses his recent win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 and his expectations that a rematch against Dustin Poirier will be awaiting him next, especially with the chance to revisit their Fight of the Year from 2018. Gaethje will also respond to Michael Bisping after he criticized the UFC Hall of Famer for his commentary during the fight between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. Gaethje also details his future plans after hinting that he might not have much time left in the sport following his latest win. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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He is the man who's coming off a win over Jafiel Fraziv at UFC 286. Am I getting the number right? Yeah. Justin Gagey, Justin, thank you as always for the time. And I appreciate it. And let me start by saying congratulations, of course, on another amazing win, another amazing performance. Thank you.

Yeah, I'm enjoying the break. But, yeah, it was a fun night. It was a fun night in London. Absolutely, absolutely. Another incredible performance. I actually tweeted out after the fight. You had another bonus. That's 11 bonuses and 11 UFC fights.

I said that's right. I think it's $550,000 in total bonuses over your career. There might have been an extra one in there somewhere in terms of like where they gave you more than 50 grand. But I said, man, this guy deserves 10 times that as much. I mean, the bonuses are nice, man, but your performance is always kind of put on the show where people are just buzzing. And we never stop talking about it, man.

I know you appreciate that. But I'm like, man, this guy deserves 10 times. times that much money. Yeah. No, I mean, I ain't going to complain about it, but yeah, I'll take more. That's why a couple years ago I went to bat for myself and made sure I got my full paycheck, you know, no win and loss, no win bonus on top of, you know, just fighting. I made sure I got my whole check.

And I think that's, you know, I think the two fights that I lost early on, Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Porier, were fights of the year, fight of the night. and I felt like I deserved my full paycheck for that. And so after that, that was one thing that I was dead set on making it happen. So I'm glad I did that. And I definitely think I deserve it. Absolutely. Absolutely.

You know, once again, Justin, you know, I'm not saying anyone doubts you by any stretch of imagination. But you fought kind of down a little bit here. You were fighting a guy behind you in the rankings. He was kind of the hot guy coming in, you know, coming off the big one over Dosanos and on this big winning streak. And everyone said, man, this guy could be a different. champion one day. And, you know, I don't, I want to say they were doubting you, but like it seemed like he was kind of like the next big thing. And, and this was his chance to prove it. And once again, you went out there and showed that you're still one of the best guys in the world. And you took

him out, especially in that second and third round. We saw what his face looked like afterwards. I know you made this statement at the post-white press conference about he wanted to, you know, he wanted to taste blood. Well, he tasted his own blood. So I don't know. Do you still get enjoyment of going out there and just kind of like, you know, I'm still here. I'm still one of the best guys in the world. Yeah, yeah, that's definitely, it feels good. I certainly was being doubted, you know, by a lot of fans and then certainly by the bookkeepers, you know, to have me as such a big underdog.

You know, I'm glad the people that believed I were able to get such a big return on their bet. Yeah, I'm, listen, I'm not going to, I'm not going to name names Justin. I'm just going to say, I pick you. Just a, I'm not patting myself too bad. It's too hard on the back here, but I picked you, Justin. I'm just saying. Yeah, I mean, it's a crazy sport.

You know, you're really only. remembered by your last performance and my last performance was subpar. So I understand, you know, that mindset or that way of thinking, but, and I believe in myself, I believe that I'm the top echelon of this sport in this weight class. And, you know, sometimes you have to go out there and prove it. Yeah. Can I assume, I mean, I'm not, you know, obviously we're going to look to the future, but can I assume, like, when they came at you with Fizia, like, you didn't blink, you didn't

bat an eye. I know you've never been a guy to turn down fights. But again, like, it was a little, a little bit, you know, higher risk, lower reward, because again, technically he wasn't, you know, ahead of you in the rankings, he wasn't near you in the rankings. He wasn't as established of a guy. Like, if you fought Porriere, you fought Conner, you fought certain guys, there's name value there. There's, there's kind of like an established veteran name there. I just can't imagine you blinked when they said that name and you went out there and prove why. Yeah, I mean, no, not necessarily. I mean,

it's definitely, you know, it was definitely a concern. It was a big risk, you know, at the end of the day. A loss to number six guy is different than the loss of the number two guy. But, you know, with the loss to Charles Oliver, I felt like, you know, it was the rightful thing for me to do is to fight someone ranked behind me. And I thought Raphael Fiziev was the perfect matchup. Not only did I think that my coach, you know, I didn't believe it as much as my coach did. You know, when my coach was talking about it, he's like, this is the fight. You know, you're going to be able to piece him up.

And I was like, really? And, yeah, I mean, with all the hard work and, you know, just trusting of my skills, I was able to go in there and do just that. Absolutely. Absolutely. Can I ask Justin, you know, you share fight cards with teammates all the time. I know you fought, you know, with Rosnamu Unis, of course, this one with Kamar Usman. Is it, is it, like, are you able to separate yourself?

When you go out there and you get such an emphatic win, big moment, great moment for you personally. But then your teammate snacks that they lose and you can say even maybe a little bit controversially. I thought the fight should have been scored a draw, but I'm not getting into like the fight, the decision. But at the end of the day, you have to watch your teammate, you know, suffer a loss and it's a tough moment. Are you able to like still enjoy the winner? a little bittersweet when you have to perform with your teammate and like you get a win and they get a loss um yeah i mean i wouldn't i wouldn't say it's bittersweet i mean it was sweet is what it was um but you know watching his fight and then you know talking to him after i mean it definitely you know

brings you back down to earth which is something that you really need after a win like that i mean it's really easy to get to get caught up in all the all the hype and believe in things that are aren't necessarily true. I mean, I went in there. I was perfect for 15 minutes, and you know, now that's over, and I'm going to have to do it again, maybe for 25, but certainly for 15. So you really just take it in stride. I mean, it sucked, you know, you're disappointed that your teammate didn't win, but, you know, ultimately I was ecstatic that I was able to come out of there unscathed mostly and then with the win. Yeah, absolutely. After the fight, Justin, you said something interesting because, you know, leading into the fight,

I mentioned, you know, the most exciting fighter in the history of the sport, and I totally agree with that statement. But you also said, you know, you're coming towards the end. You said, I'm going to make one last run of this title. Is that something that was on your mind, like, more recently? And give me a sense, like, is it, you know, I'm not going to peg you down in a number or anything, but, like, is it just this? Like, is it making one last run of the title and that's it?

Or how are you looking at this? No, I think I've never thought about it. what is something, you know, it's just the fact of the matter that, you know, I would say by 37, I would like to not be doing this anymore. You know, I'm 34 now. And so, yeah, two, two, three years is a long time, but in the grand scheme with these, it's, it's not that long. I've been doing this for 12, 15 years. Yeah. And so ultimately, it is the, the back end of my career in this sport. That's just the train of thought that I had, you know, we're so emotional after these fights that I wouldn't believe anything that we say for a week.

But, yeah, it was just my thought process after. Like, I'm not going to be here forever. So I'm glad that you guys are here to enjoy this with me. I was doing talking to the fans in that moment. Yeah, absolutely. So, because when I, listen, I'm still a fan too, Justin. And when I heard that, I was like, oh, no, we can't be losing Justin anytime soon. So when you say that, like, it's in the moment.

It's not like, hey, I got two fights left, anything crazy like that. You're talking, you know, this is, I mean, obviously everyone has a timeless. right? Like everyone has an expiration date, but this is not like I got two or three fights left in me kind of thing. No, no, I think it was more of, you know, I've been a huge fan of this sport. I've followed so many athletes and I've seen examples of people fighting too long, people quitting too early, people stopping just the right moment. And, you know, I'd like to fall in that just the right moment situation. But I would say, you know, as soon as I don't believe I can be the best in the world with my skills that I possess,

then I don't see any reason to go in there and risk what we're risking each and every fight. Yeah. Obviously, and I said, you know, when you go through a fight with Justin Gagey, it's like a car crash. We've heard that analogy all the time. I use it constantly when I talk about your fights. It seems like you are pretty healthy, though, but you are conscious about that, I imagine.

Like, you're conscious about your long-term health and in the grand scheme. When you're 38, 39, one day playing with your kids, whatever the case may be, like, I imagine that's got to play a little bit to back your. head, right? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm human. You know, there's definitely, you know, the older you get, the wiser you get, you know, the wiser you get, the more you understand that, you know, nothing is for sure, and nothing is, you know, tomorrow's not promised. And so, yeah, you start to think about these things more, but, you know, ultimately, I think that's not a concern of mine necessarily. It doesn't play a factor when I go in there.

You know, I'd like to be healthy. But, you know, I know the risk involved, and I kind of have to be content with, you know, the situation that I've put myself in. And once I find, once I'm able to be content there, then I'm able to, you know, live a little bit more free, I guess. Yeah. I did laugh after the fight when you said,

I finally went for a takedown. Everyone could shut up. I cracked up at that one. I thought that was great. Yeah, yeah, it was, uh, I mean, I just fought one of the best strikers, You know, he's fought so many fights outside of the realm that I ever lived in. You know, his tie background.

He's trained in that world. And, you know, if I thought I wasn't successful or finding success in there, I would have obviously needed to change routes. But I never felt that, you know, I felt that I was a better striker. I thought I controlled distance better. I thought I could create angles better. You know, and I thought I was seeing shots, you know, just unbelievably.

I saw everything. And I think that's, I think that the biggest factor was me watching his fights. You know, I watched his fights multiple times before this fight. And I've always, and never watched fights of my opponents leading up to the fights.

I always concentrating on beating my best self. But watching the fights, understanding the things and the repetitiveness that I saw that I thought would be able to take advantage of. I think he played a big factor in it. Yeah, and it's funny. you got your, you turned to your wrestling and you kind of had fun with that, but that was the same weekend, I think the dates are right, where your college got another All-American. It was funny because they mentioned your name. I was watching the NCAA championship broadcast, and they mentioned your name, and they're like, you know, Justin Gachie's the other guy.

And I was like, it's kind of funny. Like, you talked about the wrestling, and then the guy from your college went out there and did his thing. Yeah, not just an All-American, but a national champion. Yeah, exactly, exactly. The most dominant college wrestler of the season, so it was impressive. Yeah, absolutely. Real quick, before we move to the future, Justin, I want to ask you about this. I know you saw it all over the place after your fights. You mentioned at the post-fight press conference the whole situation with Michael Bisping, the commentary after the fight.

I know he addressed it and he didn't, you know, I don't think he said anything negative about it. You know, you understood why you felt the way you felt. It is what it is. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, but can I ask you in the aftermath of that? Did you hear his response? And I don't know if it's necessarily except an apology, like more of just like he understood where you're coming from. So I don't think there's only animosity there, but can I just ask you a reaction on that? I mean, you know, like I said, I wouldn't talk to us for a week after we fight.

You know, we're so emotional. And, yeah, seeing my teammate lose, you know, definitely made me more emotional. I was more than that before at waiting as they did a Q&A. And I thought he was more, you know, biased in that situation. And so that rubbed me the wrong way. and then so really anything he said was going to piss me off, especially because it was, you know, my teammate was fighting. So I think his assessment is spot on.

You know, I think I was, you know, probably over-emotional. I think that I say things that I believe to be true. And I don't think of necessarily the, you know, I didn't mean to throw Michael Bisping under the bus. I thought that he was a biased commentator that night when I was in the back watching it. I thought there were some comments that were made that I thought were a professional.

But, and I thought it was due to the fact that they were from a commonplace. And that's all I was saying. I mean, I think that's still, I don't believe that's false. I think that's true. But I also started up by saying I'm more, I'm just as biased. I'm more biased than him. So, you know, there is what it is. Yeah.

So there's no, there's a, like, animal. I have no way of will against Michael Bisping, you know, when he's not, he's not my favorite commentator. I remember I'm talking shit about me when I first came in fighting Michael Johnson. And so I'm a pretty petty person. And, you know, some things you don't forget. Can I ask? I'm just curious, who is your favorite commentator? Who do you like calling your fights? I would say Annick. Yeah, I think Anick is, his passion is unmatched. Yeah, he's good. He's great at his job. Absolutely great at his job. Let's talk about the future, Justin, because now with this win, you mentioned making that run at the title again. You're right there.

We all know, obviously we don't have a number one contender right now, but Neil Darius, a guy you train with. It seems like maybe he's going to fight for that in May against Charles Olavera. The natural fit, we're all talking about it, is the rematch with Dustin Porier. So where are you at? I mean, obviously you're just coming out of a fight. You're taking a little time off, deservedly so, but where's your head at? And am I right and thinking it's the Porre rematch? Yeah, I think that's the obvious answer. He's number two.

He has no dance partner, and same with me. So, yeah, I think, you know, that fight is a certain, certainly a title contention fight. The winner of the Oliver and Darjeet, obviously, are going to fight for the title in October. And so, yeah, I need to fight dust it in August, September, or October to put me on that perfect timeline. Yeah, I assume, because I know you guys are trained together,

and if you want to talk about a guy who has nothing but glowing things to say about you, Benil Darius raves about you every single time I talk to him. Can I assume you believe if he wins, he deserves that title shot? Oh, like I said, for my circumstance before, if he wins, it doesn't get the title shot that we ride. Yeah, absolutely. So let me ask you, this Porre rematch, like it feels like a lifetime ago at this point, but we still remember that fight. It was such an incredible war.

And you mentioned it was a little earlier in your career in the UFC. Can I ask, like, obviously, we always talk about you being an exciting fighter, and every time Justin Gachie performs, it's must-see television, all those kind of things. And those are all absolutely still true. But how much different do you feel as a fighter now versus the first time you fought Dustin Poirier? Yeah, I mean, I feel, you know, I would say 90-day. You know, I used to be very emotional. I used to think I needed to build up this anger to go in there and be the person that I needed to be.

And, you know, through all the experience and all these fights, I've understood that, it's just, it is who I am. You know, my athletic ability, my intuitive ability to, to can operate in the chaos and control the chaos, I think is something I've really been able to hone into and understand that it's something that a lot. me to be the fighter that I need to be. But yeah, I think I'm like, I think we're both different fighters. Obviously, that was five years ago. So, yeah, it's a different ballgame. But a fight to fight at the end of the day, I think he's got phenomenal skills. He's a hell of a matchup for me.

And, you know, nothing short of fight of the century. Again. Absolutely. I know that, you know, every fight there's going to be different motivations. Like, and again, you've said this to me before about like kind of cutting out the emotional element of it, like in terms of not allowing yourself to get overly emotional about fights. That's a big thing you work with Trevor

Whitman and the guy's on. And I wouldn't say like you had like a bunch of animosity with like Michael Chandler necessarily, but there was a little bit, you know, going back and forth and things. Like, do you feel like it would be a different approach with poor A to second times around in terms of your emotion? Because I don't think there was necessarily bad blood, but you do have lost the guy.

And I know you want that back. Yeah, I don't think the emotions I'm speaking of, they never have had any to do with the opponent that I'm fighting. I don't allow them to control my thoughts or emotion. That's my number one goal in life is to never let that, you know, not be out of my

control. So I think I think, yeah, I think it's just a, I'm more professional in the way that I approach this whole thing. I don't think anything he says or does or anything I say or do will contribute to the way that I fight that night. I think I've

obviously experienced in the Tony fight in this last fight and the It's a Barbosa fight, the mindset and the emotions that I need to approach it with. You know, I made a huge mistake in Oliver fight, allowing that to just go out the window. And, you know, I'm human and I allowed it to affect me.

It is what it is. I wish I could have that one back. That's the one that I wish I could have back because of the way that I fought. I still have never watched it because I would never recognize myself in there. And yeah, so it's a crazy game that we play. sometimes you get caught up, and you really have to be in control at all times.

Before it's all said and done, Justin, you're talking about fights you went back, would the Olavera wouldn't be the one you want the most? Like before your career's over, one more time with Charles Olavera? Yeah, I would say so, but, you know, it's more of like an impossible scenario where I want to go back to May of 2022 and fight him for the belt on that night and make better choices. That would be a better answer. Yeah.

So now with Porre, you know, you said, you know, you're not a guy who sits there and studies tape and you seriously, you know, you sit there and like break down your opponents, you more focus on yourself. Can I ask, have you seen Porri's recent fights in terms of the fights with Connor and the fight with Chandler? Have you watched those or did you pay much attention to those? Yeah, I'm a big fan of the sport. I always watch those fights. I would say that was a big factor that I may change this last fight. I watched a lot of physio's fights. I watched them on the way of sparring.

I watched them sitting at my house, you know, just hanging out. Me and Trevor watched them together. And so that was a big change that I made this camp. I really wanted to take that approach and understand more so what I would be facing rather than just concentrating on myself. So, yeah, I think that approach has helped me a lot. I think I will watch, rewatch a lot of his fights. But I've certainly watched all of them so far.

Yeah. And I said this before, you know, when we see your fights and we see, you know, we get Justin Poyer, you know, Justin Gachie, Dustin Poyer, too. no one needs to say anything. We know what it's going to be. We know it's going to be an amazing fight, fight of the year, all those kind of things.

But when you look at that, like, do you feel like this one is going to play? Obviously, you're going to play it out much differently in terms of the win. But I mean, when you look at his style and you look at where he's improved and where you improved, do you feel like it's not even necessarily,

it's going to be a great fight? We know it's going to be a great fight. But like, do you feel like you do have a lot more advantages over him now than maybe you did five years ago? Because you guys, obviously you guys, like, improve and you get better and things like that. Yeah. He's still a great boxer.

boxer back then. You were a great wrestler and kicker and and boxing in your own right back then. You just improved. So do you feel like you've made more improvements than he has when you look at your recent fights? Yeah, I mean, I can't say that I have an answer to that necessarily. I think you know, fighting is such a crazy game. You know, and it's such a short amount of time. It's 15 minutes or 25 minutes in time. The amount of minutes between now and the time that those 15 or 25 minutes transpire, you know, it doesn't matter. It doesn't, it's not a factor. I think that obviously I'm a better, much better fire than I was when I fought him last time.

I think I'm the same fighter. I think I'm just using the skills that I have in a different way. I think he's also just, you know, a better fighter with the confidence that he's gained from, you know, finishing McGregor twice. I think it's, Siles make matchups, and I think it's just a hell of a matchup. You know, it's a Southpaw versus an Orthodox fighter. I haven't fought a lot of Southpaws in my life.

Naturally, you know, you don't fight a lot of those guys. He's a true Southpaw. And so, yeah, it's a different fight. Yeah, and it just seems like it's natural. Like, I know he's responded on social media. It seems like he's into it. We're all into it. I think at this point, it's just a matter of it getting made. Is that, is that... I think

I think this is like, it's all, it's all you've done the matchmaker's job for them. Yeah, I would think so. You know, you know, you know, you can't force anybody to fight. I'm not saying that he doesn't want to fight me, but I'm, you know, he probably doesn't need to ever fight again

with how much money he's made. So I don't know. I think he'll take it. Some people around me think he won't take it. But, you know, all he can do is focus on myself in that regard. I was a little surprised. Maybe you heard this,

because, you know, just what goes around the sport. I was a little surprised when, you know, Benile Darius won his last fight, and he called for the Dustin fight. And it seemed like a natural number one contenders fight with Dustin coming off the wind over Chandler and Morgan and McGregor. And then obviously with Benile on the run, he's on. And Dustin said something, I don't want to put words in his mouth. Something extends up like, you know, he wasn't interested. He was interested in bigger fights, bigger names, things like that.

And that to me kind of frustrating was like, well, what are we after? Like, if it's just about money, great. I have no problem if you fight for tons of money. That's great. You're a prize fighter. But obviously, Benile, to me, was the guy to go through to, to get the title shot. Is there maybe a little bit of concern?

I mean, I'm not going to try to put worse your method, Justin, but is there a concern that maybe Dustin wouldn't take this fight? I mean, obviously that's always a concern. You know, I need a dance partner, and if they say no, then there's literally nothing I can do about it. I'm not concerned personally, because about Dustin specifically, because I think he's not done fighting.

I think he's still going to want to fight. I think I'm a big fight, a big name. to win-win for both of us, you know, in regards to fighting, you know, the top echelon of this sport. And so I don't think that I think I bring more to the table than that specific matchup at that time. So I don't think that I don't think he would take the same course when it comes to making the choice. The only thing is, you know, obviously anybody that stepped in there comes out with a lot of damage. and so you ask yourself, do you know, do you want to take that risk? Do I need to take that risk?

And, you know, I can't be sure that the answer is yes. But I hope so. Yeah, absolutely. And I said this right after your win, I said it on my podcast, Justin. I said that there are a handful of fights that can headline a pay-per-view that don't have a title on the line. And listen, I know the UFC is going to make that decision. I'm sure you're going to be fine with it. But this needs to be five rounds, I feel like.

enough it'll go five rounds, but I feel like it needs to go five rounds, or it needs to be five rounds. And I feel like this is a, this is the kind of fight that can headline a pay-per-view. Am I, am I right in my thinking? I don't completely disagree with you. I think, yes, that is the case. However, I prefer three rounds, you know, because it's, you know, 10 minutes less of fighting. I get paid pretty much the same amount, no matter if it's a three or five-round fight. If they were to break, what I make into thirds, and then add two thirds on the end,

pay me that I'll fight five rounds any day. I think it would be worth it then. I think the most dangerous rounds are the fourth and fifth round, but I also think that's when the elite caliber of fighter is, or the better fighter is more obvious. So I can argue both ways. My coach wants five rounds. if this last fight was five rounds

that would have never been a dispute on the winner loss I believe I won all three rounds however some couple of the first two rounds were technically close so yeah that's always a risk you know three rounds fights are dangerous when it comes to the scoring criteria

yeah absolutely well not that it matters at this point anything but I thought you pretty clearly won rounds two and three if you want to argue around one sure but two and three were definitely yours I didn't really see a controversy there. Not that my opinion matters much, but I didn't really see any controversy

in the second and third round especially. Yeah, I mean, he's so fast, you know, and it's hard to distinguish the thud that bodies make when they collide. You know, hitting an elbow probably sounds very similar to hitting a head. Two shoulders colliding sounds very similar to a head getting hit.

But hard to distinguish what is actually creating damage what's landing clean as opposed to what's landing on the shoulders or getting blocked by elbows. And so I see how the human eye can tell you that he's creating and forcing these collisions. But when I watch it, I see myself not getting hit pretty much at all. Or, you know, like the body shots,

he never really landed at a super effective body shot. I never felt my body get compromised in there. But again, how can you tell somebody? How can you tell anybody that? Yeah. When it looks like it hurts. Yeah, absolutely correct. No, you're absolutely right. You mentioned the timeline. Again, you know, right now you deserve a little, you know, downtime. you know, and obviously with Islam expected to fight in October.

So you're saying August, September, October, like, is there a perfect, would there be a perfect timeline for you to fight, or is it just a matter of you want to be close to the Islam fight so you can time it in terms of getting a title? Because obviously, you beat Dustin Porre, it's a title shot. I mean, I don't think there's any, I don't think anyone would debate that. And obviously with the winner of Benile and Oliva, seemingly like the other guy, to get the fight in October. So do you have an ideal timeline for fighting again?

I mean, I would say October, however I'd, I really don't want to go to Abu Dhabi. As much as I love being in that place, I was there during COVID, so I'm sure it would be different. But, you know, 11-hour time difference I would like to avoid. However, if that's the situation that I'm going to deal with, then I'll be happy to make it happen. I need to be on the same timeline.

I need to fight the winter of the fight in October. So whether that happens in October, September, or August, September, or October, then I think it works out just fine. So I would say any of those months, ideally. And it could even be November, December, because after that fight, there's still going to be, need to be a clear contender.

And I think that fight would do just the same if it was after. Yeah. Well, you fought Nabadabi. You also just traveled to England. Like, I'm sure it would be nice to just fight in Vegas, right? Like, just to go to Vegas for a fight or something, right? Like, not have to deal with all the travel. I'm pretty due for a Vegas fight.

Yeah. Listen, I'm just playing matchmaker. I'm sorry, go ahead. That's one of my favorite spots to fight. It's the fight capital of the world to me, and I love being there and being in the atmosphere. Yeah, I said only a certain number of non-title fights can headline cards. I think, what do you think?

Connor and McGregor and Justin and Justin, maybe get some pay-per-view points in the back end. I don't know, maybe you know, get you extra pay. I don't know, what do you think? Nah, they ain't giving me no pay-per-view points. You know that. I think they should. I think they should give you a lot of things, Justin.

I said that when I put out that bonus thing, I was like, I think they should give you 10 times that much. I mean, come on now. I mean, I'm right there with you, but that's not the game we're playing.

Yeah. Well, whenever it happens, we know it's going to be must-see television. And I, again, I'm with you on the three-round thing, but selfishly,

I'm like, this is the main event of a pay-per-view. I mean, it's just an incredible fight. I think it needs to be five rounds, especially with the, you know, where it leads to.

It's leading to a title fight. I think, you know, these fights should be fought for five rounds. But again, I need to be compensated for those two rounds. Absolutely. No, you're absolutely correct. I think those are little things that get lost in the conversation, right? Like we talk about main events, five-round fights. We don't think about the extra, the extra, you know,

what goes into what you're earning for those five-round fights like that. You know, those are little things we don't really think about. They give you $25,000 extra for five-round fights or main events. I don't even know. If you're a co-made event for a five-round fight, they might try to not even give you that. But, you know, as much as it sounds, that $25,000 isn't enough.

It ain't enough. Yeah, no, it isn't. Absolutely not. I think there should be, I think when it's, like, I think your last, you know, whatever it is, like seven, six, seven fights, I think they need to immediately, one thing they need to up the bonuses, whenever you fight from 50 to $100,000 easy.

Like, it should just be doubled whenever Justin Gachie fights. And like I said, And again, I'm not going to get to the whole pay dispute thing. I have a lot of thoughts on that. But, you know, like I said, the entertainment value you give us every time you step in there. And this goes across the more. I think fighters universally should get more. But a guy like yourself, man, like you're the guy when you retire, you should retire with like four houses and 10 cars and, you know, easily eight figures in the bank and all those kind of things.

Because that's the kind of performance you put on and the entertainment you've given. You've given us millions upon millions of dollars of entertainment. I think you should be compensated millions of millions of dollars in return. It's a growing process. My coach Luke fought in the UFC in the early 2000s for like two and two. So it's the next Justin Gage and the next era will certainly have what you just described. And, you know, as shitty as it sounds as I think I deserve that. But, you know, I'm happy to make the way for the next athlete to be able to have that.

Yeah. Last thing before I let you go, Justin, I almost forgot to mention with this last fight you talked about after your last one, you had the nose surgery. This is your first fight since then. How did it make a difference? How did you feel with the nose being actually fixed now? Yeah, I mean, I made a lot of choices this fight to put myself into the position that I needed to put myself to be perfect. The nose was a big one, and I think it helped in my training sessions. I think it helped me gain the capacity that I needed to gain. And yeah, I felt amazing on fight night. I felt amazing leading up to fight night. Obviously, your body's so torn down and broken down from the training camp. But when you take that week and it's just concentrating on cutting weight, really, you know, you're not banging elbows, banging knees, getting hit.

I was able to really, you know, enjoy being in such good shape. And that was, I think that came probably mostly from my downs. Yeah, well, that's awesome to hear. Justin, thank you so much for the time, man. I really do appreciate it. Hopefully next time we talk is when the fight with Dustin Pori is official for later this year again. I think it's the only one that makes sense. And I think it's just a no-brainer at this point.

I don't want to, you know, I don't want to put the cart before the horse, so to speak. But I think we all know that should be what's coming. So thank you for the time. And I want to say sincerely, like, thank you for the entertainment. man. I don't think we said that enough when you go out there, put your body and brain on the line every time. And we talk about being the most exciting fight in the world. Man, thank you for entertaining us, man. It was another amazing fight. And I personally can't wait to see a fight again. Yes, sir. I appreciate it. Just know that I absolutely love it. So don't worry about me.

I appreciate, Jess. We'll talk soon, all right? All right. Later, man. All right, bye-bye.