MMA Fighting - Justin Gaethje Talks Conor McGregor, Nose Surgery, Oliveira vs. Makhachev, More

Episode Date: October 5, 2022

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje sits down with MMA Fighting's Mike Heck to discuss teaming up with the UFC and Modelo for the gym revitalization program and his role in helping to renovate a local gym in Denver, his successful nose surgery, wanting to return in 2023, what opponents make sense, if he was offered a fight with Rafael Fiziev for December, what it would take for him to fight Conor McGregor, the UFC280 main event for the lightweight title between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, and more. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two, ghosts in the machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love?

The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original, The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster, The Downloaded.

It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded two, Ghosts in the Machine,

available now, only from Audible. The Vox Media Podcast Network. All right, let us say hello to Justin Gachey, two-time UFC title challenger, former interim, UFC Lightway Champ, former World Series of Fighting Champion, one of the most exciting fighters, in my opinion, in the history of the sport,

but he is also teaming up with the UFC and Modello to help renovate Topera boxing club in Denver after tragedy unfortunately struck earlier this year. So I'm glad to have Justin on to talk about that and much more. Justin, how are you, my man? I'm doing great. Yes, sir. Thanks for having us. Absolutely.

So for those who weren't aware to add a little bit of context to this, the gym was founded in 2011 by Joaquin Romero. It's been a staple in the community ever since. but in February, Joaquin was killed an unfortunate hit-and-run accident and now Joaquin's father,

Oscar, has taken the reins to fulfill his son's legacy. And with this revitalization program, the gym's gotten some much-needed renovations, new equipment, rings, new bags, doors, mirrors, lockers, and the list goes on. And this is just another example

of how, Justin, the MMA community comes together when one of its own is in need. So, and that's what's happening here. So, Justin, you're obviously a big part of this. How did you get brought into the fold here? Yes.

So I did some appearances from Odello at one of these UFC events out in Allen. I think it was Vegas. And I think I talked to one of them about, you know, teaming up when being part of a gym refurbishment here in Denver. And I was, you know, completely on board, you know, right off the bat. What has, you know, this all meant to you? Not just from an MMA perspective, but like you said, a community perspective as well. Because like we mentioned, the gym has been there

for over a decade, it's been a pillar in the community. And after a tragedy like this, to be able to be a part of something like this, to revitalize and help this family out, what does that meant to you personally? Yeah, I mean, you know, this gym, I just left there. I just got home. And this gym is right up the street from one of the schools

that my best friend teaches at. You know, it's not what you would consider. It's not Sherry Creek. It's not the Scottsdale of Phoenix. You know, this is just people, working. Working. There's a ton of good food. I'll tell you that. But these kids are, these kids are looking for opportunities. And, you know, the boxing gym is such a good path to get aggression out. I mean, you're not asking them to go play piano, to play an instrument.

I mean, they're still getting aggression out. These kids are so hyperactive. And there's so many distractions within a city when it comes to being, you know, that age group, you know, being around their peers that are getting in trouble. And so, for, you know, every fighter that's in the UFC or every boxer that's fighting on a pay-per-view or even not on a pay-per-view started in a gym just like this. And without these gyms across the nation, you know, we would be, there wouldn't be fighting. There wouldn't be kids with avenues to go out there and find, you know, things to keep them occupied. So I think that's the biggest takeaway for me is being able to, and again, these gyms aren't, you know,

there's no gyms aren't there to make money. They're not there to be rich. They're there to provide to the kids. community to be an outlet for kids for adults to you know stay in shape be healthy and stay in trouble so i mean it's perfect i'm glad we picked this gym it's in a perfect location uh yeah good cause um yeah it goes right along with modello not where you're not where you're from what you're made of um that's what we're doing well said and you said you just got back from there what was the day at the club like what was the experience like and just seeing it all come together what did you see

what was it like for you yeah I mean, I think they received around 50 to 100 new pairs of boxing gloves. That's huge for a gym like that. It's going to last them the whole year. New bags to hit. New mats. I mean, we were putting up, we were hanging up bags. They got some really cool bags, different designs that they're probably not used to seeing.

So that's, you know, new speed bags. So it's all good. Like I said, they've been expanding a lot. They've expanded a lot since COVID. kind of kicked off. And there was a class outside waiting to come inside when I left. And they were all, you know, all pumped up to work out. So do you hope to be part of more of these in the future, whether it be in the Denver area or outside of it?

Yeah. I mean, so, you know, I can't harp on this enough. You know, my college degree was human services, social work. These are opportunities that I look for every day, you know. And I just flew back from Vegas to do, you know, a charity event for first responders. and veterans and I get to come back and do, I mean, this, this makes me happy, you know, it brings me peace and I get to help out. So it's perfect. Awesome stuff. Cudos to you for getting involved. Now, I want to transition a little bit to you

because we last saw you compete in May against Charles Oliver for the title. It didn't go your way. And we talked to you at the Hall of Fame red carpet in July. You talked about how you learned a lot from that fight. And you also mentioned that you were getting some nose surgery. You wanted to clear some things up before you came back. So how did that go? And how are you feeling now? Yeah, I mean, it's great. It was 13 years, no nose. You know, I've, I've had two of my senses pretty much broken

and then fixed my eyes and my nose. And I don't know which one's better. I mean, can't imagine not being able to see, but being able to see 2020 is something special. But being able to anticipate your food, sleep, and just really just live how we're supposed to, you know, having two methods of oxygen, intake is something I'm really enjoying right now.

You said 13 years, no-nose. Do you, is there a moment that you can pinpoint like the last time you could smell food and get prepared for it and things like that? Can you remember the last time you felt like this? No, I don't. I mean, so whenever this happened, I was wrestling in college. I was in the middle of a wrestling season in the middle, you know, so I was cutting weight. No, and pretty much the entire time before.

that I was living in college with Eat McDonald's. So, no, I don't miss that. I don't remember that. But yeah, at school, you know, you get to eat good food now. So it's really good to just enjoy it as much as I should. I'm glad you're feeling better. Have you thought about, I mean, I'm sure you have, but like, do you have a timeline in mind on when you might be able to return?

I told them, I told them next year. Yeah, I told him next year. You know, I'm starting to work out now. I'm back in, you know, back in a regular routine. But yeah, I wanted, you know, one thing we have over other other sports is, you know, the body is resilient, but you have to give it time. I got hit really hard. I had a hard camp. And, yeah, I wanted to take a break. It was nice that I got to get my nose fixed. You know, they got to fight for the title. Someone's got

to fight the loser. Chandler and Poyer are going to fight. Someone's got to fight the winner. So, yeah, I'll be ready next year. Ideally, I mean, January, February, March, whatever they want to do. But I'm not sure when Kamau was going to London, but I wouldn't mind fighting in London. Yeah. And then, you know, Benile Daryush and Matushche Gamrod are fighting on the UFC 280 card as well. So are you just thinking sort of like one of the pieces of that sort of six-man puzzle right now makes sense? Does anybody else sort of stand out to you? Again, I'm back to training. You know, you're drawing bigger pictures or better pictures than me. I'm a, I'm a day to a quarter mile at a time type of a guy. So, you know, first,

First and foremost, I need to get my strength back. I need to get back into cardio, you know, cardiovascular shape. I'm going to really concentrate on, you know, grappling and lifting weights for a month. And then, you know, my cardio, the crazy thing is I've been eating so healthy since I fought. My numbers when it comes to my, you know, my two, three mile times, I'm hitting the same numbers I was hitting at the end of my camps. So I feel great, you know, but again, that the natural break that I needed was going to be. is going to be huge for my, you know, for my confidence, for my health, all that stuff. You know, nobody's looking out for us other than ourselves.

So I'm going to make those choices. So I'm glad you sort of game some sort of like sometime early next year because reports did service on social media that the UFC was trying to put together a fight between you and Raphael Fiziv for UFC 282 in December. I mean, we checked into it. Didn't get a lot from that. But did that ever get offered to you from your knowledge? No.

I told them I wasn't fighting this year. So why would they offer? to me. Yeah. That's what I thought. You know how these social media sites work sometimes. Crazy place. It definitely is. That's where I find out who I'm fighting usually, so you never know. I know things between you and Connor McGregor haven't obviously been cordial to say the least, but just kind of looking at that matchup, I mean, obviously Connor's a huge name. It's great for you and for the bank account, obviously. And I'm sure there's a big part of you that would like to get in there and fight him for your own reasons. But to me,

and we've talked about this with my colleagues that I've conversed with about this potential matchmaking, the fight between the two of you guys on paper might be the most exciting matchup in UFC history. Like two guys who get in there looking to finish, you're looking to get out of there as quickly as possible. I don't know, man. Like I feel like before you guys turn the page, this fight needs to happen at some point, depending on when he's ready to come back, what your schedule looks like. I feel like this is the fight to make within the next 12 months. I mean, who knows? I mean, if everybody would just remember correctly, you know, I fought Cowboy, I beat Cowboy, and then he fought Cowboy right after that.

I was primed ready to go. Sounds to me like he's off taking steroids right now. He hasn't been drug tested by Usada in quite some time. I'm looking for a fair competition. You know, if everyone, if he's on steroids, then give me steroids and let's go. Yeah, I'm down with that. But my health is my biggest factor. I have never taken a performance-hance-in-drug,

and I do not want to fight people that are taking performance-hands-in-drugs. So, once he's, I mean, again, even if they, I don't even know how it works, if I don't know how stairways work, I don't know how stairways work. I'm sure there's windows. I'm sure he'd be fine.

I'm sure you can come back and be clean, but the fact that he hasn't been being drug tested tells me he's been off taking steroids, you know, whether to heal his leg or not. If I break my leg, I'm not taking the stairways to heal my leg. So that's going to be the title of our thing. I'd rather it not be.

but he had the chance to fight me. He didn't fight me. He picked Cowboy. So yeah, I mean, whatever. Who cares? Who knows? Maybe. I mean, I'm sure he's much more confident now that he could beat me.

He clearly didn't take that fight then because he, you know, wasn't confident. So maybe he's more confident now and more willing to dance. Who knows? Two last quick things. I ran off your list of accolades when I introduced you here. and there was a time where you were a few fights into your UFC run, and you sort of put a shelf life on everything, and you only had this many fights left.

And it seems like obviously you've changed course a bit over the years as your career has progressed, and now you have this new sense, literally, with the nose, and it's all good. But what else do you feel is there for you to prove or accomplish? Is it winning the title? Is there other benchmarks that you strive to hit? Like, what else do you have left on the bucket list? Yeah, so that specific quote is,

is I would take, I'll have four or five more wars. Since then, I believe I've only had one. So it looks like I got three or four left in the tank. But it's probably closer to two or three fights like the Charles fight. But ultimately, my goal is to be the world champion. You know, I like to follow the correct process. I think I need two wins, possibly three, but hopefully two, two knockouts in the first round

you know gets me right back in the title contention um you know I don't think that if soon as I maybe don't believe or have confidence that I can be the best in the world then I have no reason to keep going do you have a pick for the title fight yet

I don't I don't I mean it could be an amazing fight but it could be extremely you know boring Mokchev probably wins by decision but all of theirs has been super impressive so I don't know

I think whoever is hanging out on their back foot is going to lose I don't see Mockchiev being on his back foot and Charles is going to make it a point to not be on his back foot but can Mockchch to put him there is going to be the biggest factor well Justin I want to take up too much more of your time

my man congrats on the nose I'm glad 13 years is a freaking long time, man. And now you have this new outlook on life, so to speak. You can enjoy food now. You can enjoy that it's coming your way. So thank you very much, again, for this incredible stuff with Modelo in the UFC and the gym revitalization program. Glad you could be a part of it.

Is there anything else you want to say in regards to that before we wrap up here? No, I mean, just looking forward to the next opportunity, whether it's a different state. I like to stick around Colorado. I'm from Arizona. So I know this is their second gym refurbment they've done. so I'm looking forward to the next one. Awesome. Great stuff, Justin.

Thanks again. All the best to you and excited to see what's next for you sometime in 2023, my man. All right. Thank you, man. Have a good one. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.