Justin Gaethje provides an update on his return after UFC Freedom 250

By Harry Kettle - June 19, 2026 at 8:54 AM PDT // 0 Comments

UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje has provided an update on his return to the cage after his win at UFC Freedom 250.

Last weekend, Justin Gaethje defeated and stopped Ilia Topuria on the stool to become the new undisputed UFC lightweight champion. It was a pretty incredible performance from the man known as ‘The Highlight’, and as you can imagine, the masses are already interested to know who he may take on next.

RELATED: Daniel Cormier thinks UFC White House setting pushed Justin Gaethje to victory over Ilia Topuria: “It all worked perfectly”

Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan seem to be the clear contenders at this moment in time, but given the war he went through, Gaethje will likely take a break before making any decisions about his future.

In fact, Gaethje has already suggested that he won’t compete again this year.

Gaethje discusses his UFC return

“I already fought twice this year and very rarely do you get me twice in one year so there’s a very, very, very small chance that I would ever consider fighting this year again with what I put myself through,” Gaethje said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“I was able to reset his feet every 1-2 seconds, I was very diligent about it, and I fought a perfect fight,” Gaethje said. “He was completely caught off guard. He was not expecting it. That obviously is another part of this whole game is the expectations.

“I don’t go in with expectations, so that way I can never be surprised. That’s just the way I compete. He took the opposite approach. I said it before (the fight): When we go into (Rounds) 2 and 3, you’re going to be in hell, and that’s where he was.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

What do you want to see next for the champion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Justin Gaethje UFC