Gaethje Shoots Down Pimblett Rematch

Justin Gaethje has no shortage of options as UFC lightweight champion, and he appears to be turning most of them down.

Two weeks after Paddy Pimblett submitted Benoit Saint-Denis in under a minute at UFC 329 and called for a rematch of their January interim title fight, Gaethje gave his answer.

"Destined for each other to fight again? No," Gaethje said

The January fight between the two was widely regarded as one of the year's best — a five-round war that Gaethje won by decision and that elevated both fighters' profiles significantly regardless of the result. Pimblett's stock rose despite the loss. Gaethje won the interim belt and eventually the undisputed title with his upset of Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. A rematch, with the undisputed title on the line, would be a legitimate and commercially interesting fight. Gaethje does not appear to see it that way.

It is not the only rematch he has dismissed. He has also been cool on a second fight with Topuria, the man he handed his first career defeat at the White House event. Topuria has been vocal about wanting revenge, and the matchup would be among the most anticipated rematches the lightweight division has seen in years. Gaethje's apparent indifference to both options leaves his next move genuinely unclear.

One possibility is Max Holloway. Gaethje lost his BMF title to Holloway at UFC 300 by knockout — a finish delivered with one second remaining in the fight, one of the most replayed moments in recent UFC history. Holloway has since competed at welterweight, winning the UFC 329 main event by TKO after McGregor's early injury, and has indicated he will return in 2027. A Gaethje-Holloway rematch at lightweight, with the title at stake, would carry significant weight.

Gaethje became champion by beating the man nobody expected him to beat, on the biggest card in the sport's history, in front of the largest live audience the UFC has ever drawn. He earned the right to be selective about what comes next.