“Didn’t believe his cardiovascular activities,” Justin Gaethje claims an in shape Kamaru Usman would finish Khamzat Chimaev in two rounds

Justin Gaethje weighed in on Kamaru Usman fighting at full capacity. The short-notice fight against Khamzat Chimaev was not the best version of Usman according to Gaethje.

“Didn’t believe his cardiovascular activities,” Justin Gaethje claims an in shape Kamaru Usman would finish Khamzat Chimaev in two rounds

Justin Gaethje weighs in on Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev (Source: IMAGO)

In a recent interview, Justin Gaethje shared his thoughts on various topics, including UFC 294. The BMF champion gave his opinion on the main event and co-main event of UFC 294. Gaethje revealed his amazement at the performance of Kamaru Usman in taking the short-notice fight. Gaethje also commented on Usman’s chances in ideal conditions.

Speaking to ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi, Gaethje said:

I think he uh you know he didn't believe in this in his cardiovascular abilities which is going to be almost impossible to do. I think with the full camp...you have that fight 10 times. I think you have the same first round 10 times. And an in-shape Kamaru pressures him and finishes him in the second round.
Justin Gaethje via ESPN MMA.
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After talking about Usman’s performance, the BMF champion revealed his future plans. Gaethje expressed his willingness to wait for a lightweight title shot. He also shared that he would rather not fight Max Holloway, citing that Holloway was a nice guy. However, he acknowledged that he might have to consider fighting him in the future if the situation called for it.

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Gaethje said he would wait for his next shot at the titleholder, Makhachev, for as long as it takes. CEO Dana White confirmed that Charles Oliveira was next in line for the title shot. The fight must occur before Makhachev starts fasting for Ramadan, which starts on March 10. If Makhachev wins and decides to wait until later in the fall to compete again, Gaethje would wait for the title shot and not fight in the meantime.

Max Holloway makes a sudden BMF title callout to Justin Gaethje

Justin Gaethje wants Islam Makhachev up next, following the latter’s victory at UFC 294. However, Max Holloway has an alternative proposal in mind. He has made a callout to Gaethje recently on X.

Justin Gaethje gets called out by Max Holloway
Justin Gaethje gets called out by Max Holloway (Source: IMAGO)

Gaethje (25-4) has won his last two fights. In July 2023, Gaethje won the BMF belt. He resides in Arizona and trains in Colorado. The BMF champion has only lost twice since 2018 (both in title fights). The losses came against Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib is Makhachev’s training partner and Gaethje intends to face Makhachev in the future.

On the other hand, Holloway remains in a difficult position in the featherweight division. He cannot fight for the title as he lost to the champion three times in a row. He will find it difficult to fight for the title until Alexander Volkanovski remains as the champion. Hence, he called out Gaethje for a BMF title fight. However, Gaethje does not want to defend his BMF belt until he fights for the lightweight title.