Justin Gaethje rarely relies on his wrestling once the cage door closes.
Ilia Topuria’s camp feel that they can take advantage of this, seeing opportunities to expose gaps when Gaethje is focused on pressing forward and throwing power shots.
Still, Gaethje has built a reputation for breaking opponents with his relentless style. Few have managed to withstand the pressure and still come out on top. His power, volume, and toughness make him a nightmare for anyone standing across from him.
But as Topuria’s team have pointed out during training, the interim champion will have to be wary of the champion’s hands. If he gets too comfortable standing in front of him, it could force him to switch things up mid-fight.
Justin Gaethje’s camp keeping offensive wrestling in his ‘back pocket’
Gaethje picked up nearly six minutes of control time against Pimblett, but it wasn’t the sort of fight you’d expect.
We often see Gaethje using his wrestling skills to keep the fight on the feet rather than taking it to the mat. He uses his background more as a defensive tool, shutting down takedowns and forcing exchanges where he feels most comfortable.
In a recent training video, Topuria reacted with a surprised, “Wrestling?!” after seeing Gaethje working on that part of his game. It’s not what fans are used to from him, but it’s clear he is adding new layers.
“Like I’ve said in past camps, Justin doesn’t utilize his wrestling in an offensive manner usually but we want to make sure that it’s in his back pocket if he needs it and I think we saw that in the Paddy fight,” Cherrington said. “He did utilize it in spots and that’s really the end goal in terms of the technical stuff.”
If Gaethje chooses to take things to the mat, Topuria won’t be caught off guard. The champion built much of his early reputation as a grappling specialist before becoming known for his striking power.
The 27-year-old even has eight submission wins on his record due to being known as a grappling specialist when he first arrived in the UFC.
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