Inside Justin Gaethje's fight camp: altitude training, grappling work, and Wittman's coaching method

Russian lightweight Nikita Kulshin, who served as a primary sparring partner for Justin Gaethje ahead of his bout with Ilia Topuria, has detailed the camp's structure and methods. Gaethje trained at altitude of roughly 1,800–1,900 meters in Arvada, Colorado, logging two to three hours of wrestling-based work per week, including wall work, scrambles, and submission defense. Coach Trevor Wittman's focus was on foot positioning rather than pre-set combinations, and Kulshin noted that Gaethje worked low kicks in sparring without going full power, while high-kick training was present but not a heavy emphasis. Kulshin also revealed that Wittman personally paid him more than the agreed amount for his sparring contributions and designs and sews the team's ONX equipment himself.