Justin Gaethje believes fighters and fans consistently underestimate his wrestling and submission skills. The former interim lightweight champion stated that he could have submitted Paddy Pimblett, pointing to his grappling performance in their bout as evidence of his overlooked ground game.
Justin Gaethje is pushing back against the narrative that he is purely a striker, insisting that his wrestling and submission skills are chronically underestimated by fighters and fans alike.
The lightweight champion, now 37 years old and carrying a 28-5 record, made the case by pointing directly to his performance against Paddy Pimblett, stating he could have submitted the English contender during their bout. For a fighter whose reputation was built almost entirely on relentless forward pressure and heavy hands, the claim is a deliberate effort to reframe how the sport views him. Gaethje trains out of Genesis Training Center and stands five-foot-eleven with a 70-inch reach. His striking numbers are exceptional — he lands 6.48 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy — but he logs just 0.33 takedowns per 15 minutes and has no recorded submission attempts in the database, which goes some way to explaining why the grappling side of his game rarely enters the conversation.
Pimblett, ranked sixth at lightweight, holds a 23-4 record and has built his own reputation around an aggressive submission game, averaging 1.2 submission attempts per 15 minutes. The 31-year-old from Liverpool trains out of Next Generation MMA and stands five-foot-ten with a 73-inch reach. He lands 5.49 significant strikes per minute at 52 percent accuracy, but it is his ground work that has drawn the most attention throughout his UFC run.
Why it matters
- Gaethje holds the lightweight title, so any narrative shift around his complete skillset carries weight in how future title challengers prepare for him
- Pimblett sits at number six in the division, meaning their matchup has clear ranking implications if a rematch is considered
- A striker-versus-submission specialist framing that Gaethje is now actively complicating could reshape how the lightweight division scouts both men
