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‘We’re on the descent of our career, there’s no doubt about it’: Justin Gaethje warns Kamaru Usman that he is no longer at his best, but he expects ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ to beat Leon Edwards as part of the trilogy after the recent loss to the Englishman
- Justin Gaethje believes close teammate Kamaru Usman is in the descent phase
- Usman recently lost his first fight in nine years after defeat to Leon Edwards
- But Gaethje backed the Nigerian to beat Edwards in their third fight
- He’s aiming for a rematch against Dustin Poirier after losing the first match
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Justin Gaethje believes that Kamaru Usman is now in the downward phase of his MMA career and he doesn’t want him to fight for many more years.
At UFC 278 in August, 35-year-old Usman recorded his first Pentagon loss in nine years after being knocked out by Leon Edwards.
Close teammate Gaethje says ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is still the best UFC fighter, but he believes they are now both on their way to the end of their peak.
Justin Gaethje believes Kamaru Usman (above) is now in the downward phase of his MMA career
“He is the best in the world and again we both understand that this is not the beginning,” he told MMA Mania.
“It’s not even in the middle anymore. It’s not the end, but we’re on the descent of our career, there’s no doubt about it.
“I don’t want to fight until I’m 40, he doesn’t want to fight until he’s 40, and I don’t want him to fight until he’s 40.”
Usman recorded his first loss in nine years after being eliminated by Leon Edwards (right)
Reports suggest Usman could re-record Edwards to complete a trilogy and Gaethje has no doubts about who will come out on top.
The 33-year-old said: “He’s in a great place. He’ll come back, maybe he’ll fight this man in London, he’s better than him and he should win.
“The reason we are all such fans of this sport is because of its unpredictability at any time.
Gaethje looks at a rematch against Dustin Poirier as one of ‘two or three hard fights over’
“And when you’re on the other side of what he just went through, the best feeling in the world. That’s what we’re all for. He has a chance to go out and get that feeling back.”
Gaethje last fought in UFC 274 when he lost to Charles Oliveira. In the same interview, he admitted that he has “two or three hard fights to go” and wants one of them to be a rematch with Dustin Poirier.
“Ideally Poirier beats Chandler, I’d love to fight Poirier,” he added. “I mean, he hit me. That’s a win I’d love to get back. It was the fight of the year, the fight of the decade, probably the fight of a few years. That was quite a struggle. That’s ideal.’