In Las Vegas on Saturday, Justin Gaethje will face Paddy Pimblett for the interim UFC lightweight title, with the American veteran embracing his status as the underdog and promising to expose his opponent over five rounds.
Gaethje, 37, believes Pimblett’s confidence could work against him when they meet in the octagon at UFC 324. Pimblett, 31, has predicted a stoppage victory within three rounds and recently described Gaethje as a “boxer with leg kicks”.
“I hope he’s overconfident in himself, just like I was when I was 30 years old, so I can teach him some lessons,” Gaethje told BBC Sport.
“This is 25 minutes in time. Nothing from the past, nothing from the future can determine it. It’s about being perfect. Who’s more perfect? Who makes mistakes? Who doesn’t make mistakes, who’s more prepared?”
Gaethje, a former interim lightweight champion in 2020, said he wants to extend the fight deep into the championship rounds.
“I want to take Paddy into the fourth, fifth round. Really hurt him, and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
Pimblett is known for getting under the skin of opponents and claimed this week that a dominant performance could even retire Gaethje. The American, however, said he thrives on pressure and enjoys being cast as the outsider.
“The more I hear him talk, the more I want to hurt him,” Gaethje said. “He’s weird. But in a good way. He goes left when you’re supposed to go right. And these are things that I’m going to have to figure out early.
“Great grappling, terrible wrestler. So we’ll see if you can take me down.”
Asked how he sees the fight ending, Gaethje was blunt in his assessment.
“I just have to turn his lights off for one second,” he said. “I see him asleep.”
