Former Strikeforce Ace Josh Thomson: Gaethje Toughest Fight for Makhachev

Former Strikeforce lightweight king Josh Thomson believes Justin Gaethje can give 155-pound Ultimate Fighting Championship ruler Islam Makhachev a run for his money.

Makhachev (25-1) recently expressed interest in taking on a new opponent in Gaethje (25- 4) instead of rematches against Charles Oliveira or Arman Tsarukyan. Thomson believes “The Highlight” is the toughest fight in the division for Makhachev, owing to the intricacies of their contrasting styles.

Thomson noted that while Gaethje is notorious for avoiding wrestling, Makhachev’s wrestling isn’t very conventional. The Dagestani, self-admittedly, likes to work on sweeps and trips from the clinch, where Gaethje can be very dangerous on the break.

“I believe right now out of all of them, the hardest fight for him is Justin Gaethje. You say ‘no’ because of the wrestling, and I understand why you say no,” Thomson said on the “Weighing In” podcast. “But I say this: Islam has a tendency sometimes to stand in the pocket a little bit too long, and he can’t afford to do that with Justin; and his wrestling is not double-leg takedown wrestling.

“Justin’s not someone who sits in that clinch for too long. He’s good at breaking out of the clinch. He’s good at keeping you out of that clinch area and letting his hands go. Dirty boxing, uppercuts; he possesses the power to land the shot out of the break. He’s a dangerous fight for Islam. Very dangerous.”

Gaethje suffered a submission loss in a title unification bout against Makhachev’s predecessor Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 in 2020. Thomson further noted that while Nurmagomedov managed to take Gaethje down, he had to walk through several cracking shots from Gaethje, a feat “The Eagle” was known for. However, Thomson doubts if Makhachev can afford to take flush shots from “The Highlight.”

“I’m saying that we’ve seen Justin can take it. He can deliver it. His only weakness in this fight is that if his back hits the ground, it could be over quick. And I’m saying it will potentially hit there, but I say that if you’re going to look at who is the most dangerous fight for him, and we saw it with Khabib in the first round.

“Khabib took some big shots from Justin in that first round, and Khabib just walked him down. Islam’s not going to fight him that way. He can’t afford to fight him that way. He can’t afford to take the shot that Khabib took. He can’t, and he’s got to close that distance to get to that takedown.”