Ahead of his second shot at the Undisputed UFC lightweight championship, Justin Gaethje had some unfavorable things to say about the champion.
‘The Highlight’ recently labeled the champion Charles Oliveira as a “quitter” in several interviews.
“I wasn’t being overly critical, I wasn’t saying he was a bad champion, I was saying that in the times that he’s lost, he didn’t even get knocked out, he quit sometimes.”
“The choice to quit is something one makes, and once you make it, you can make it again, because you know that it’s there.”
“I don’t believe I’ve ever made that choice. Some people haven’t and I believe some people have… I believe that he has, and that’s all I was saying.”
“I believe, deep down, he knows his way out, and that’s to quit whenever he gets hit too many times too hard. All those assessments were of a younger man,’ he continued. ‘He’s [32] years old, he’s a man now, with confidence. “
“A man with confidence is a dangerous man and he’s not the same man that I was referencing. But, again, deep down, once it happened once it will happen again, and I’m the perfect guy to show it to him. And I will show it to him May 7.”
Oliveira may have had several losses in his career, but unlike most of his opposition he has been with the UFC for a decade – since he was just 22 years old.
His first defeat came from UFC legend Jim Miller who submitted him with a kneebar. Another three losses also came from the legends of the sport – Donald Cerrone, Cub Swanson, and Frankie Edgar.
Not to mention Oliveira actually suffered a serious injury during Max Holloway bout that led to him being carted off from the octagon.
According to Oliveira, he thought he would never walk again when that injury occurred.
Oliveira got the chance to address these accusations during Portuguese-language podcast Trocacao Franca:
“He (Chandler) landed a good hand, had the opportunity to knock me out and win but couldn’t.”
“I went there and knocked him out. Justin Gaethje had the opportunity for the belt against Khabib and you all saw what happened.”
“The ugliest bout I’ve ever seen in my life, he died, so I don’t have anything to say.”
“You know when a guy needs to talk to be in the spotlight? To me, that’s what’s going on here. He needs to talk to be in the spotlight.”
Now with the UFC 274 around the corner, it will be the best time for Oliveira to prove his champion quality against the blood and guts fighter in Gaethje.