Justin Gaethje made his presence known in his UFC debut against number five ranked lightweight contender and top striker Michael Johnson with a TKO victory at 4:48 in Round 2. This now gives him a perfect record of 18-0 record as well as his first two bonuses with the company (‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Performance of the Night’). Though the fight was a back and forth brawl, Gaethje ate almost every strike like they were nothing making him seem to be scary and dangerous as Johnson is known for heavy strikes that have left his opponents stunned and knocked out cold. Since Gaethje was able to take them without hesitation this leaves fans breathless at what else he has to expose of his skills.
Gaethje just began his career in the UFC so it is still too early to come to a decision if he has a chance to become the next star of the division but with his striking power and chin we all would surely love to see him take on many more challenges in which the lightweight division is filled with.
To test more of his striking and chin he could probably go up against opponents such as Dustin Poirier, Nate Diaz or even Eddie Alvarez who are all fighters that contain great striking power that could really test Gaethje on how much more power he holds in his strikes along with his ability to handle every strike being thrown at him. In the sport of mixed martial arts it takes not only power but a strong chin in order to make it to the top.
Additionally there is the grappling and Gaethje really does not grapple much, so it would be interesting to see just how he handles against a well-rounded jiu-jitsu specialist or a wrestler. Some opponents that would be just right for him would be Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson or the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov who all are tough fighters that never fail to show off their grappling techniques and if Gaethje was to take on any of these three contenders and walk away with a win then not only would he have proven to stand toe-to-toe with a grappler, but also to take on the current lightweight champion Conor McGregor, which would probably be a fun fight to watch but will probably have to wait.
For now, Gaethje can just sit back and enjoy his debut victory and wait to hear what the UFC has in store for him next.
