After losing the BMF belt to Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje went into hibernation mode for a while. Needless to say, losing the fight via a KO with just a couple of seconds left on the clock emerged as a truly disappointing result for the former BMF champion of the MMA promotion. A win against the former Featherweight king would have paved the way for a title shot, considering his spectacular finish of ‘Diamond’ in his previous bout. But after the fight, the whole wide world began speculating about Gaethje’s next fight. 

Even though Holloway showed nothing but gratitude and praise for ‘The Highlight’, there were others who dissed him for his loss and tried to spark a rivalry. However, the former lightweight interim champion stayed quiet until now. He has finally revealed a few names that he would probably go up against in his upcoming fights.

In a brief conversation with ‘Full Send MMA’, ‘The Highlight’ was asked about his opinion on having to fight the New Zealander, Dan Hooker. Hooker has challenged Gaethje on multiple occasions, back in 2020. But ‘The Highlight’ wasn’t ready to take on the fight. But things are different this time around. While Gaethje was up for a fight against ‘The Hangman’, he didn’t forget to excite the fighting community with names like Alexander Volkanovski, Charles Oliveira, and Dustin Poirier. 

Gaethje answered, “Yeah, Dan Hooker… I have a list, I think Hooker, you know, Oliveira, Poirier, and Volkanovski… A list of 4 people.” Now, all that the UFC world needs to do is wait for confirmation from Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, and others. 

Targeting the 4 lightweight prospects was a move that many had already anticipated. But why didn’t Justin Gaethje opt for the lightweight title shot? Well, that’s because he had given up on the idea of fighting Makhachev since the media day for UFC 300.

Justin Gaethje gives up the idea of fighting for the LW belt right after UFC 300

During the media day for UFC 300, Gaethje was asked about his take on getting a title shot. But the UFC had already planned for Islam Makhachev to fight the winner of the bout between Arman Tsarukyan and ‘Do Bronx’. Gaethje said, “Ideally, they’re calling this Oliveira-Tsarukyan fight a title eliminator, so the winner of that fight fights (Makhachev) in June, then I fight the winner of that in preferably Madison Square Garden in November.” 

He continued, “That sounds like a perfect timeline for me. I’ll definitely have my time to rest, recovery and retrain myself to get ready for that fight. That’s the perfect situation for me. We’ll see if Oliveira sh–s the bed again. I think if Tsarukyan wins he takes it because they are calling this a title eliminator, so whoever wins is going to have to fight that fight.”

But situations have changed now. Even though Tsarukyan won the fight via a decision, he was snubbed by Poirier for the title shot. Most importantly, the former BMF champion was unable to force his way into contention. But will he ever get a shot at the lightweight title? Only time can tell. What are your thoughts on the 4 matchups that Gaethje revealed? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.