Who Does Justin Gaethje Fight Next?

UFC lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje pulled off a big upset and put on one of the best performances of the year when he battered Ilia Topuria on The White House lawn, causing 'El Matador' to quit on his stool inbetween rounds.

There are plenty of questions as to who Gaethje will fight next, from rematches, to fresh fights and everything in between.

We take a look at options for 'The Highlight's' next fight and give a suggestion as to who we would matchmake him with.

Justin Gaethje vs...

Fresh Matchups

Arman Tsarukyan 

The logical pick is Arman Tsarukyan. The Armenian wrestler is enjoying a five fight winning run, including three finishes, a lightweight title eliminator and two performance of the night winning bonuses. With an overall reacord of 23-3 and a UFC record of 10-2, there's little denying that he is deserving of a shot.

The issue is, the UFC have often seen Tsarukyan as unreliable due to him pulling out of a title fight with Islam Makhachev the night before the bout, his altercation with a fan at UFC 300, headbutting Dan Hooker at the weigh ins of their fight, as well as multiple post fight brawls after matches at RAF... to name a few incidents.

There are also rumours that he will be meeting Charles Oliveria for the BMF title at UFC 331. This potentially eliminates him from a fight with Gaethje for the undisputed belt, however, these rumours are unconfirmed as of yet. Gaethje believes that Tsarukyan should be next, putting a feather in his cap.

Rematches?

Charles Oliveira

If the rumoured bout between Tsarukyan and Oliveira doesn't go ahead, Oliveria has a strong case to face Gaethje next. He faced Gaethje at UFC 274, dominating the current champion to a first round rear naked choke. 'Do Bronx' bounced back from his loss to Topuria at UFC 317 with a one-sided victory over Mateusz Gamrot, notching a second round face crank victory. He would then go on to headline UFC 326 and challenge for the BMF title against former foe, Max Holloway.

Oliveria would put on a dominant, albeit underwhelming performance against Holloway. He 50-45'd 'Blessed', highlighting a clear gap between the two in the grappling realm.

A rematch between Oliveira and Gaethje would certainly sell.

Ilia Topuria

Ilia Topuria, under different circumstances would deserve a rematch after his UFC Freedom 250 loss. The Spaniard was 17-0 with 15 finishes, was arguably the UFCs biggest star at the time and looked the part. The issue is, the manner of his loss eradicates any interest in an immediate rematch.

Topuria was battered for the best part of 20 minutes and ultimately was unable to continue after taking such a beating. It wasn't close, it was a one-sided beatdown.

Topuria needs to re-build, get at least one more win under his belt and then potentailly get a rematch.

Paddy Pimblett

Paddy Pimblett is an interesting case. He is the biggest star in the UFC's lightweight division. He was enjoying a seven fight UFC winning run before he ran in to Justin Gaethje. Kicking off 2026 and the Paramount + era, Pimblett and Gaethje went to war for the interim lightweight title. The two men went five, hard rounds with Gaethje coming away the victor. 

Pimblett made his excuses for the loss, however, licked his wounds and returned just six months later. He took on the dangerous Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329 and in just 52 seconds, he was back. Catching a takedown attempt from BSD, Pimblett latched on a peruvian necktie, choking the Frenchman out in under a minute.

This re-bound win put him straight back in the conversation for another title shot.

Max Holloway

A man with an outside chance at getting a shot at Justin Gaethje is the man who snatched the BMF title from Gaethje, Max Holloway. The Hawaiian scored one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history when he risked a clear victory against Gaethje at UFC 300 to throw down with him and ultimately knock him out.

After losing to Oliveria, he faced Conor McGregor in the Irishman's comeback... and we all know what happened then. He's back in the win column, albeit in an underwhelming manner.