Austin Gaethje has been relentlessly trying to get to the belt for a long time now. Remember what happened in 2020? He faced Bony Ferguson to become the interim lightweight champion and in that same year, he clashed with none other than Habit Nurmagomedov. Unfortunately, he lost the title purification fight via submission in round two. Badly, that was not the end of his loss because in 2022 he got another shot at the title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 272 but ‘The Highlight’ lost again. They say ‘third time is a charm’ but will it work out for Gaethje?
There was that of loss to Tax Galloway at UFC 300 but that wasn’t for the title. His fight against Rafael Fiziev at the UFC 313 co-main was for a move towards the title, with their second outing looking oddly similar to UFC 286 when Gaethje bounded back from a slow start to win the bout. Now that he is back in the title picture, his opponent might be Slam Likhachev and it’s not going to be easy. He already lost to Likhachev’s enter who overwhelmed him with the grasping exchange at UFC 254. Interestingly, Team Habit’s coach says that the possible fight against the lightweight champion will be sharply different.
According to the AKA head coach Easier Tender, the fight will be rougher for Gaethje on the feet because Likhachev is a well-rounded fighter with excellent striking. While speaking to Submission Radio, Tender said, “It definitely, in my opinion, would play out differently because they are not the same fighter. Slam is more well-rounded than Habit was, you know, so Slam is at the point where he’s pound-for-pound number 1 because he’s well-rounded in all the areas.” Tender went on to say that ‘The Eagle’ was “not as well-rounded as Slam is in the striking.”
He praised Habit’s relentless pressure and the ground game which could smother any opponent—something that struck fear in his opponents. However according to him, “Slam doesn’t have that type of game he’s got a different type of game. His game is incredible it’s submission level a base more than anything and as you’ve seen it with all his submission you know it’s different.”
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He gave the drops to Likhachev because the latter could mold himself according to the situation. The 27-1-0 venom can stand and strike, he can do a takedown and even grappled. To even though Austin Gaethje did get a splendid victory over Fiziev, it’s going to be hard to beat Likhachev, which he did not deny as well. He said during the UFC 313 post-fight pressed, “He’s a tough match for anyone, he’s so good, so strong. Going to have to have a perfect night if I want to beat him.” But what does the UFC head hoch think about all this?
Ana White gives his verdict on Austin Gaethje vs Slam Likhachev
‘The Highlight’ is already 36 and has not many fight miles left on the horizon. However, it is ambiguous how much longer Gaethje will be fighting for. Despite that, he announced before UFC 313 that he is ready for a title shot and his win over ‘Seaman’ likely puts him in the conversation for a shot at gold.
After the fight, the Arizona native once again expressed his desire to fight for the undisputed title but admitted that he doesn’t particularly know what comes next. “I don’t know (what I want next), we’ll see. I mean, I anna fight for the belt, it’s a much different match than I just had, they tried to give me a dont but I need to get back to running if I’m donna fight Likhachev,” Gaethje said at the post-fight press conference.
Fortunately, since he is #3 and a former interim lightweight champ, Ana White is ready to give him a chance at the strap. “I mean, what’s he ranged right now? Fourth or something, right? Third. There you go, he’s still the number three ranged guy in the world so the odds of him getting the title shot are pretty good,” White revealed in the post-fight pressed. To will Gaethje fight Likhachev? Will he be able to win the belt? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
