‘Once a coward, always a coward’: Justin Gaethje out to make Charles Oliveira ‘quit’ at UFC 274

Gaethje has questioned the UFC lightweight champion’s heart ahead of their title fight this weekend

Justin Gaethje gets his second shot at the UFC lightweight title this weekend (Getty Images)

Justin Gaethje has insisted that he will make Charles Oliveira ‘quit’ in their lightweight title fight, which headlines UFC 274 this weekend.

Former interim champion Gaethje challenges Oliveira in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, and the American has questioned the title holder’s resolve and how it will fare under the brutality of Gaethje’s strikes.

While Gaethje has admitted that he must avoid grappling exchanges with the Brazilian, who has the most finishes and submission wins in UFC history, the 33-year-old believes that there will only be one winner if the fight does not hit the mat.

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“All my criticism of Charles is from a kid that we were talking about, that we all watched grow, and now we’re talking about a man with confidence. It’s a different person, but ultimately the same Charles is still there,” Gaethje said at a pre-fight media day.

“The same Charles that fought Cub Swanson. The same Charles that fought Donald Cerrone. The same Charles that fought RDA [Rafael dos Anjos], [Anthony] Pettis. Choices were made in that by him and the choice to quit was made, and I’m going to give him that choice on Saturday night, I guarantee that.”

When asked whether Oliveira’s mentality has improved in Gaethje’s eyes, the challenger said: “I think that’s true, however, once a coward always a coward.

Charles Oliveira will make the second defence of his title (Getty Images)

“I’m not calling him a coward, but I’m saying that’s... you can’t just take that away. It’s there. Khabib [Nurmagomedov] never showed you that, and that’s why you can’t compare those two.”

In 2020, Gaethje failed to unify the lightweight belts with then-champion Khabib, who submitted the American in Round 2 before retiring from the sport.

When asked how Oliveira differs from Nurmagomedov, Gaethje said: “They’re definitely not the same athlete, and Charles certainly is not more dangerous than Khabib. His ability to take damage is not the same, proven through the times we’ve seen him fight.

“My tactic was gonna be to evade [against Nurmagomedov], and that’s the first and only time I’ve had that mindset, and it won’t happen on Saturday. If he marches through me, then good for him, but I won’t be moving backwards.

“I create car crashes, and I am the object with the most force. Same mass. If he wants to play the game, I’m more than happy. He won’t. He will have to.”