Justin Gaethje is a professional mixed martial artist, who is currently ranked as world number two in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Gaethje has always been a talented fighter, taking up wrestling when he was just four years old. He won the Arizona state championship twice during his youth, going on to be named an NCAA Division 1 All American whilst studying at the University of Northern Colorado. It was while he was there that he took up mixed martial arts, competing in amateur bouts and discovering his love for the sport. He turned professional in 2011, and the following year was signed to the World Series of Fighting promotion. He won the WSOF Lightweight Championship just two years later, defending the title up until 2016. In 2017 Gaethje signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, building on his reputation for being one of the rising stars of the sport with a series of wins and awards including several Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night accolades. In 2019 he became an interim UFC Lightweight Champion, and by then he was firmly established as a fierce competitor in the sport.
Most recently, Gaethje has continued his series of great performances and to date has only recorded three losses in his fighting career. At the start of 2021 was ranked as the world number two in the UFC lightweight rankings and he remains one to watch.
