Justin Gaethje has revealed that he is eyeing a return to action in March and believes that Dan Hooker is likely to be his opponent.
“So, there’s no official fight signed, but I told the UFC maybe two, three months ago that March was, you know, the date I was looking for,” Gaethje said on YouTube. “I know there’s a fight March 8 in Las Vegas so, that’s the one I told them I wanted to be on.
“I think they’re figuring out fights right now, but I’m certainly mentally preparing, physically preparing to fight on that date. So, that puts us eight-and-a-half weeks’ out, which means it’s really going to be here.”
The march 8th event the 36-year-old Gaethje is referring to is UFC 313 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and would see him looking to bounce back from a KO defeat at the hands of Max Holloway in their BMF title clash at UFC 300 in April of last year.
“Coming off a knockout, I’m really excited to get back to training,” Gaethje said. “When you take a loss like that and you’re as competitive as we are, then it lights a fire under your ass, and we’re getting back to work. …So, we’re back to it, back in the swing of things and back getting ready for a specific day, a specific opponent.
“I think it’s going to be Dan Hooker, but you know, with the UFC, things can always change.”
Hooker is currently ranked three places below Gaethje on the lightweight ladder at No.6 and heads into 2025 on a three-fight winning streak that’s seen him TKO Claudio Puelles followed by split-decision victories over both Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot.
