Charles Oliveira: “Ok Ronda” – Fans refuse to buy Justin Gaethje’s “concussion” story going into title fight against Charles Oliveira in 2022

Justin Gaethje was unable to capture the lightweight title when he faced Charles Oliveira at UFC 274, losing the bout via first-round submission. ‘The Highlight’ recently revealed that he went into the bout with a concussion after suffering a bike accident just 18 days prior.

Speaking to Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, the No.2-ranked lightweight said:

“That was the last lesson I needed to learn. That was me wanting something too bad, being emotional, from many circumstances. Honestly, 18 days before [the fight], I got a concussion riding a bike. It’s not something I need to talk about, want to talk about, but that’s why those strikes were so – I say [he’s] the hardest guy that’s ever punched me, but that was a factor.”

He added:

“Bike whooped my f**king a**. 18 days before, I smoked my head off the concrete, but I was so ready and so willing. The fight was at home and I’ve never pulled out of a fight. I didn’t even think about, for a second, to pull out of the fight.”

Check out Justin Gaethje’s comments on facing Charles Oliveira with a concussion below:

Fans were not buying that Gaethje entered the bout with a concussion. X user @CarlosRen89 compared him to Ronda Rousey, who recently claimed that she suffered a concussion prior to losing her UFC women’s bantamweight title to Holly Holm via second-round knockout at UFC 193:

“Ok Ronda 😂 🤡”

@DieselxMMA suggested that fighters always have excuses:

“Always an excuse with these dudes 😂 Charles outclassed Gaethje there’s nothing more to it.”

@Argonaut92 believes that if the pair rematch, Oliveira will once again emerge victorious:

“great excuse, nevermind they’re all getting punched in the face the entire training camp without a helmet on. Gaethje loses a 2nd time if they fight. Gaethje’s ground game does not exist.”

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Justin Gaethje uninterested in quick turnaround to face Islam Makhachev

Justin Gaethje is set to defend his ‘BMF’ title against Max Holloway on the main card of UFC 300 this weekend. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev has expressed that he plans to defend his lightweight title at in June, meaning that ‘The Highlight’ would need to make a quick turnaround to compete for the belt.

Speaking to Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, the No.2-ranked lightweight revealed he has no interest in doing so, stating:

“I don’t think I need to. I don’t think [I want to]. Because a training camp involves putting yourself through extreme situations. You know, your body gets tired, fatigued, sore… I want my time to rest, decompress. I think that every single fight is a traumatic life experience and I think you need to take the time, the personal time, to recover mentally [and] physically after that and that’s two months from now, eight weeks from now. He doesn’t have to fight in June. He could fight in July [or] August. I want that fight.”

Check out Justin Gaethje’s comments on facing Islam Makhachev in June below:

Islam Makhachev’s stated interest in returning in June will likely remove Justin Gaethje, as well as Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan, who will also compete at UFC 300, from the conversation. Instead, it appears that Dustin Poirier is in line to become the first lightweight to challenge the champion for his title.