UFC 300 Pereira vs Hill | 14 Apr 24 | |||||
UFC 291 Poirier vs Gaethje 2 | 30 Jul 23 | |||||
UFC 286 Usman vs Edwards | 18 Mar 23 | |||||
UFC 274 Oliveira vs Gaethje | 07 May 22 | |||||
UFC 268 Usman vs Covington 2 | 06 Nov 21 | |||||
Justin Ray Gaethje (/ˈɡeɪdʒi/; born November 14, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion, as well as the current UFC BMF Champion. He is the second fighter in the history of the UFC to be awarded the BMF championship. He won the BMF championship on 29th of July 2023 at UFC 291. As of July 20, 2023, he is #3 in the UFC Lightweight Division.
Born in Safford, Arizona, Gaethje began wrestling when he was four years old. He was a two-time Arizona state champion as a wrestler at Safford High School, and an NCAA Division I All-American during his time at the University of Northern Colorado. He began his amateur MMA career while in college, turned professional in 2011 and joined the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) in 2013, where he became Lightweight Champion. He defended his WSOF belt five times before vacating it to join the UFC in 2017.