University of Northern Colorado to induct Justin Gaethje into Athletic Hall of Fame

UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will be honored by the University of Northern Colorado for his wrestling achievements.

Gaethje, an NCAA Division I All-American, is set to be inducted into Northern Colorado’s Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place in early 2021 with more details to be revealed at a later date.

Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) wrestled for the Bears and became their first NCAA All-American since the wrestling program was reintroduced to the Division I ranks at 157 pounds in 2010.

Gaethje on Monday took to Instagram to reflect on his journey, recognizing those who helped him on the wrestling mat.

View this post on Instagram

Got a call that I was being entered in the @unc_bears hall of fame for my time wrestling. I left home to Wrestle there in 07/08 I did not know one person when I arrived and I remember specifically having the thought right before I left home of “I wonder where I will be when I’m 30.” This one would have made some of my closest friends and family and I proud #uncbears It was some of the best times of my life, I met a bunch of solid dudes I put in tons of work with. The athletic department staff had their hands full keeping me on the mat for four years and I’m very thankful they never gave up on me. It was a major blessing my coach @bencherrington157 joined the team my first year right off his 2006 NCAA Championship. He whooped my ass repeatedly and taught me how to wrestle, his one in a million type family helped me as much as they could to keep my nose to the grindstone

A post shared by Justin Gaethje (@justin_gaethje) on Jun 29, 2020 at 1:42pm PDT

Got a call that I was being entered in the @unc_bears hall of fame for my time wrestling. I left home to Wrestle there in 07/08 I did not know one person when I arrived and I remember specifically having the thought right before I left home of “I wonder where I will be when I’m 30.” This one would have made some of my closest friends and family and I proud #uncbears It was some of the best times of my life, I met a bunch of solid dudes I put in tons of work with. The athletic department staff had their hands full keeping me on the mat for four years and I’m very thankful they never gave up on me. It was a major blessing my coach @bencherrington157 joined the team my first year right off his 2006 NCAA Championship. He whooped my ass repeatedly and taught me how to wrestle, his one in a million type family helped me as much as they could to keep my nose to the grindstone

Since transitioning to MMA, Gaethje, 31, has gone on to have a remarkable career, winning the World Series of Fighting lightweight championship before signing with the UFC in 2017.

After a rocky 1-2 start to his UFC tenure, which included his first professional loss, Gaethje has finishes his last four opponents en route to capturing the interim lightweight belt with a win over Tony Ferguson in May at UFC 249.

Ferguson is expected to unify his title with champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the fall, looking to become the first man to defeat Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov has used his grappling to maul his opponents, and no one has figured out an answer to stopping him. But Gaethje is confident that with his folkstyle wrestling and superior striking, he has the ability to dethrone the champ.