Oliveira: Gaethje Only Talks To Get Attention

No. 2-ranked lightweight contender Justin Gaethje has no respect for division champion Charles Oliveira and believes “Do Bronx” is a “quitter” who will fold under pressure against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 269 pay-per-view (PPV) headliner in December.

The Brazilian, however, believes Gaethje is just fishing for attention.

“Justin Gaethje had the opportunity to fight for the belt against Khabib and you all saw what happened,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “The ugliest fight 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 on the spotlight? To me, that’s what’s going on here… Justin Gaethje hasn’t fought in what, a year? Everybody saw his last fight. It’s been a while. What happens is that if you don’t fight you have to talk, so he has to talk to get attention.”

Gaethje (22-3), who battles former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler at UFC 268 next month in New York, was stopped by Poirier at UFC on FOX 29 and also got submitted by the since-retired Khabib Nurmagomedov in their UFC 254 title fight in summer 2020.

Oliveira (31-8, 1 NC) has won nine straight with eight finishes.

“Those who think I’m a quitter, tell them to earn it, win their fights and come get it,” Oliveira continued. “We’ll see who quits and loses. But come ready, both on the feet and on the ground. That’s what I have to say. There’s no point talking. If talking won fights I’d put a parrot in there to win fights because no one talks more than them. I have a red macaw in my farm and it talks all day long, so it would win everything.”

Calvin Kattar can relate.