"Gaethje (26-5) is scheduled to fight Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas. The interim title fight was hatched after champion Ilia Topuria announced a short break from competition for personal reasons. Gaethje and Pimblett (23-3) were previously frontrunners for a title shot against Topuria. However, Topuria has clearly expressed his preference for defending his title against Pimblett over Gaethje."
""I definitely got what I asked for," Gaethje told the UFC. "It was more that my manager put me in that. I probably said it - we're emotional beings and we're petty. We don't get to where I'm at, or where these fighters are at, without being petty. I take things personally, and I thought I earned something. And so I was trying to stand up.""
Justin Gaethje threatened retirement after feeling he had earned a title shot and being passed over for one. An interim lightweight title fight with Paddy Pimblett was scheduled for UFC 324 after champion Ilia Topuria announced a short break, creating a path for Gaethje to still compete for gold. Gaethje later said the retirement threat was partly his manager Ali Abdelaziz's idea and acknowledged that he spoke emotionally and took the situation personally. Abdelaziz suggested Gaethje might follow through, while UFC president Dana White responded that Gaethje should probably retire if he meant it.
Read at Sherdog
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