Justin Gaethje says Islam Makhachev will have to wait for a title shot because ‘The Highlight’ believes he is next in line to fight the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier for the lightweight belt.
When — or rather if — Gaethje beats the winner of Oliveira-Poirier, though, he is willing to give No. 4-ranked Makhachev the first crack at the title.
“I’ll let him go first if he gets his spot,” Gaethje, who beat Chandler in a FOTN at UFC 268, said of Makhachev during a recent interview with MMA Fighting. “I’ll beat one of these guys [Charles Oliveira or Dustin Poirier] and then I’ll allow him to go first.