Nick Newell has reflected on his 2014 WSOF championship loss to Justin Gaethje, describing Gaethje as one of only two fighters he has encountered who do not change their output or pressure even under severe fatigue. Newell said the only way to stop Gaethje is to knock him completely unconscious, and that his punching power and forward pressure remain constant regardless of how tired he becomes. The other fighter Newell placed in that category was Dricus Du Plessis.
Nick Newell has opened up about his 2014 World Series of Fighting lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje, offering a vivid account of what set the current UFC lightweight champion apart from virtually every other opponent he has faced.
Newell, now 40, carries a professional record of 14-2 and has long been regarded as one of combat sports' most compelling stories. Fighting out of the Fighting Arts Academy as a southpaw, he lands 3.53 significant strikes per minute and owns a striking accuracy of 46 percent across his career. The WSOF title bout with Gaethje remains one of the two losses on his ledger.
Reflecting on that contest, Newell described Gaethje as one of only two fighters he has ever encountered who simply do not reduce their output or pressure as fatigue sets in. In his telling, the only way to stop Gaethje is to knock him completely unconscious, because his punching power and forward pressure remain unchanged no matter how tired he becomes. The second fighter Newell placed in that same category was UFC middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis.
Gaethje, now 37 and the reigning UFC lightweight champion with a record of 28-5, has built his entire identity around that relentless style. Fighting out of Genesis Training Center, he lands 6.48 significant strikes per minute at a remarkable 58 percent accuracy, numbers that reflect exactly the kind of sustained, high-output pressure Newell described enduring over a decade ago.
Du Plessis, the 32-year-old South African ranked second in the middleweight division and seventh pound-for-pound, carries a 23-3 record and averages 5.18 significant strikes per minute at 48 percent accuracy. The switch-hitter out of Team CIT also adds 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes, giving him a more varied threat profile than Gaethje, yet Newell's point centers on the shared quality neither man seems to lose: the will and physical capacity to keep coming forward at full intensity.
Why it matters
- Newell's firsthand account adds rare fighter perspective on what makes Gaethje so difficult to finish
- Placing Du Plessis in the same category signals how the middleweight contender is viewed inside locker rooms
- The comparison spans two different weight classes, underlining that relentless forward pressure is an elite and uncommon trait at the highest level
