Justin Gaethje bashes ‘serial cheater’ Michael Chandler ahead of UFC 313 

UFC lightweight superstar Justin Gaethje mocks former Bellator champion Michael Chandler for his cheating habits during fights.

Justin Gaethje bashes ‘serial cheater’ Michael Chandler ahead of UFC 313 

Justin Gaethje slams Michael Chandler for cheating (via Imago/X)

The UFC lightweight division is filled with absolute killers who are all fighting for the gold. There are veterans like Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje, who have already fought each other. Nevertheless, their rivalry is still palpable. Recently, the ‘Highlight’ made sneaky remark on the former Bellator champion which caught the attention of many fans.

Chandler made his UFC debut back in 2021 and has already fought most of the top lightweight fighters. He has also competed for the title and has more UFC losses than wins. On top of that, ‘Iron’ has often been accused of cheating inside the octagon. Recently, while talking about eye-pokes and cheating, Gaethje made sure to directly mock Chandler for his antics. 

I think it’s blatant fouls. Lot of Michael Chandler sh**. Pretty much everything he does, immediately point taken away. Smoking people on the back of head. 

Justin Gaethje via UFC 313 Media Day 
YouTube video

In his last fight against Charles Oliveira, many fans saw Chandler hitting the Brazilian with multiple behind the head blows. UFC commentator Daniel Cormier made sure to call it out during the live telecast. However, it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Lightweight veteran Dustin Poirier has also accused Chandler of cheating during their fight at UFC 281. 

According to DP, the ‘Iron’ tried to lift his face by holding on to his teeth in order to get a choke attempt. In both the fights, Chandler failed to attain victory. However, it seems like fans are now getting more aware of these instances. Nevertheless, for Justin Gaethje, this isn’t a time for worrying about Chandler.

Justin Gaethje’s opponent talks about their upcoming fight at UFC 313

Justin Gaethje is currently scheduled to fight Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event of UFC 313. Fiziev substituted for Dan Hooker on short notice after the Kiwi fighter pulled out due to a hand injury. Both Fiziev and Gaethje have already fought with each other, and it was an absolute war for three rounds. 

Rafael Fiziev believes be would beat Justin Gaethje in the rematch
Rafael Fiziev believes be would beat Justin Gaethje in the rematch (via X)

Fighters like Fiziev and Gaethje are carefree, which leads to extremely entertaining fights. In the process, they get heavily injured and the Azerbaijan national is well aware of that. However, Fiziev wants to see a different result that the first bout. 

I don’t wanna go to hospital this time. But it’s true words, when people like me and Justin go into the octagon we always from the octagon have to go to some pharmacy.

Rafael Fiziev via UFC 313 Media Day 
YouTube video

Gaethje got brutally knocked out by Max Holloway in the very last minute of their UFC 300 encounter. He lost his BMF title and doesn’t want to experience a similar kind of loss. It would be interesting to see if this fight changes the course of Gaethje’s future. 

Related: UFC Top 5 ‘Knockouts of the Year’ 2024