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Justin Gaethje believes the significant strike statistics shown during his UFC 268 fight against Michael Chandler don't depict how the scrap transpired in reality. Although the significant strikes landed by both fighters show that the fight was fought on an equal footing, 'The Highlight' caused way more damage compared to his opponent.
In the latest episode of UFC Unfiltered, Gaethje claimed that the significant strike numbers put out by the UFC for his clash with Chandler 'are absolute bullsh*t' and they don't paint a correct picture of how the fight transpired. He went on to say that the promotion used these statistics as a tool to make the fight seem more engaging and closely fought than it was.
"Those numbers they put up for strike counts are absolute bullsh*t. They don't paint a picture of anything. The announcers use it as a tool to keep the fight fans interested or intrigued but those numbers are absolute bullsh*t. He didn't hit me much after the first round at all other than when the ref got me hit one time. My fault, you should protect yourself at all times. It is what it is, I moved past that but yeah," Gaethje said.
Check out the latest episode of UFC Unfiltered below:
Chandler and Gaethje went to war in the main card opening encounter at UFC 268. In a back-and-forth battle, Gaethje outclassed a resilient Chandler to emerge victorious via unanimous decision.
According to official stats, Justin Gaethje landed a total of 133 total strikes in the fight out of which 116 were significant strikes. Chandler, on the other hand, landed 104 total strikes out of which 103 were significant strikes.
Michael Chandler believes Justin Gaethje can beat both Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier in potential title clash
Michael Chandler has predicted that Justin Gaethje will become the new lightweight champion next year. According to 'Iron', Gaethje is the clear top-contender and should now fight the winner of the upcoming lightweight title clash between Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira.
Whoever Gaethje fights for the title, Chandler believes that with the right mindset, he can beat both Oliveira and Poirier to become champion.
“I think Justin Gaethje is the clear-cut number one contender...I think Justin Gaethje breaks Charles Oliveira...I think Justin Gaethje cleans up a couple of things, remembers how he lost to Dustin Poirier a couple of years ago and I think he wins the title, middle of next year,” Chandler told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour podcast.
