Nick Newell, who faced Justin Gaethje in a 2014 WSOF title fight that Gaethje won by TKO, has reflected on what makes Gaethje uniquely dangerous. Newell said the only way to stop Gaethje is a definitive knockout, as fatigue and punishment do not alter his pace, pressure, or power. Newell added that Gaethje and Dricus Du Plessis are the only two fighters he has observed who remain completely unchanged despite visible exhaustion.
Nick Newell has opened up about his 2014 WSOF lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje, offering a striking assessment of what makes the current UFC lightweight champion so difficult to stop: punishment, fatigue, and pressure simply do not register.
Newell, now 40 years old and carrying a professional record of 14-2, faced Gaethje over a decade ago in a contest that ended by TKO. The southpaw fighter out of Fighting Arts Academy lands 3.53 significant strikes per minute and has built a career on tenacity, but he encountered something different in Gaethje that night — a fighter who could absorb damage without any visible change in output or urgency.
Gaethje, now 37 and the reigning UFC lightweight champion, has backed up that reputation across a long career that reads 28-5. Fighting out of Genesis Training Center, he lands an imposing 6.48 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy — numbers that reflect exactly the relentless offensive pace Newell described. Newell's assessment was blunt: the only way to stop Gaethje is a fight-ending knockout, because everything short of that leaves him completely unaffected.
Newell also placed Dricus Du Plessis in the same rare category. The South African middleweight, ranked second in his division and seventh pound-for-pound at 23-3, operates at a similarly unrelenting level. Fighting out of Team CIT at 32 years old, Du Plessis lands 5.18 significant strikes per minute with a 76-inch reach and adds 2.22 takedowns per fifteen minutes — a complete, physically imposing game that Newell suggested projects the same aura of indestructibility.
Why it matters
- Gaethje's ability to maintain pace and power through punishment is a defining trait that opponents and analysts continue to highlight
- Du Plessis being placed in the same conversation underscores his standing as one of the sport's most physically daunting champions
- Newell's firsthand account carries particular weight, given he shared the cage with Gaethje at a critical moment in both fighters' careers
