Justin Gaethje says he will “riot” if he doesn’t get a title shot for beating Michael Chandler at UFC 268

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje says he will “riot” if he doesn’t get a title shot for beating Michael Chandler at UFC 268.

Gaethje returns to the Octagon after a 13-month layoff when he takes on Chandler in the UFC 268 pay-per-view main card opener. For Gaethje, this is a huge fight for him as he looks to bounce back from his submission loss to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, while it’s equally as important for Chandler’s career. After knocking out Dan Hooker in his UFC debut, Chandler lost by knockout to Charles Oliveira in his last fight in a failed bid to become the new UFC lightweight champ. So both Gaethje and Chandler are coming off of losses heading into this bout and they both desperately need a win here if they want to remain alive in the crowded UFC lightweight title picture.

For Gaethje, he believes that beating Chandler should be enough to get him the next crack of the belt instead of say, Islam Makhachev. Speaking to reporters ahead of UFC 268, Gaethje said he will “riot” if he doesn’t get the next title shot for beating Chandler.

“Even if he (Chandler) wins, they probably won’t give him a title shot. The only reason he got the first one was because it was perfect timing,” Gaethje said (h/t MMAjunkie.com). “But, yeah, I already said it: If I don’t get the shot, we riot. We go to war. I have to be biased when it comes to this. I’m not going to be around here for much longer, so if I were to get snubbed again then, yeah, I’d have to do something about it. Whether that’s causing ruckus. I have to let my manager do his job. I got the best manager in the game. We all know what’s supposed to happen if I get this win on Saturday night, so hopefully you all riot with me.”

Do you agree with Justin Gaethje that he should get the next UFC lightweight title shot with a win over Michael Chandler at UFC 268?