Justin Gaethje criticizes referee of Chandler fight for 'mistake that could have cost him $1 million'

J. Gaethje (right) defeated M. Chandler (left) in the UFC 268. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Justin Gathje emerged victorious from a strong candidate for “Fight of the Year” against Michael chandler No. UFC 268, held last Saturday (6), but he wasn't 100% happy with what happened in the octagon that night. According to Gaethje, the result could easily have been different due to a mistake made by the fight's central referee, Mike Beltran.

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In the second round of the fight, Justin gaethje was hit by an accidental finger in the eye Michael chandler. The referee's hesitation to stop the fight resulted in Gaethje being hit by a strong punch from Chandler before the stoppage. During his appearance on the “Anik and Florian” podcast, Gaethje opened up about what happened.

“I hate criticizing the guy. He's human, and we all make mistakes. I just think that every referee that steps into the octagon has a certain look on their face as if they are in shock, intimidated by what is happening. I understand, but it's real life. I need them to be in game mode. We are not dealing with seconds, they are much less than seconds. If you're going to stop the action, you need to put your body in the middle. If you're going to get hit by a blow, that can't be a problem. It was a big punch. What if he had knocked me out? These things can completely change the direction of a fight. It's crazy to me that this wasn't seen as a big issue, because to me it was a big issue. If I lose, it’s US$1 million (approximately R$5,5 million) that I won’t receive,” said Gaethje.

According to a Justin gaethje, it was necessary to insist that the referee give him time to recover from the poke in the eye.

“When he spoke to me, I thought he was referring to the punch I had just taken, and I said it was okay. As a fighter, you never say you're not well enough to continue. So he ordered the fight to continue and I had to tell him that I needed recovery time because of the finger in the eye. He never looked at my eye, didn't even take a second to see if it was affected. I can’t understand how this happened, why this happened or what the f*** happened”, concluded the fighter.