Justin Gaethje is currently one of the best MMA fighters in the Lightweight division of UFC. Despite his loss for Khabib (arguably the best athlete in UFC history), Justin is a phenomenal fighter with a background in a great variety of fighting styles. In that sense, as he usually wins fights by knockouts and not submissions, people wonder what Jiu Jitsu belt is Justin Gaethje?
Justin Gaethje is a White Belt in Jiu Jitsu (the initial rank in BJJ). It’s not the strongest quality of Justin. In his professional MMA record, he has only one victory by submission. However, Justin is a D1 All-American wrestler and a phenomenal striker, with one of the best boxing skills in UFC.
Justin Has An Incredible Wrestling Background
Justin may not have a great BJJ background, but his wrestling skills are exceptional. Now at 32 years old, he began his wrestling career at the age of four (28 years of dedication). In High School, he attended Safford, where he was a four-time finalist and two-time state champion (AIA). According to his Wikipedia page, collegiate Gaethje graduated from Safford High School with a 191-9 record. After that, he accepted an offer from the NCAA Division I program at the University of Northern Colorado. As a freshman, Gaethje had an 18-9 record, including a third-place finish at the Oregon Wrestling Classic. In his sophomore season, he qualified for the 2009 NCAA Division I 157 lb Championship, where he posted a 0-2 record. He finished the season with a 14-4 record and was named to the Western Wrestling All-Conference First Team.
| Professional MMA Fights (25) | Wins (22) | Losses (3) |
| By knockout | 19 | 2 |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
As a junior, Gaethje went 5-2 at the 2010 NCAA Division I 157 lb Championship to earn 7th place and All-American status. This made him the first Northern Colorado wrestler to attain Division I All-American status since Larry Wagner in 1970. Gaethje dropped down to the 149 lb division for his senior year but had struggles with weight cutting. He won true-second at the NCAA Western Regional Championships and qualified for the 2011 NCAA Division I 149 lb Championship, where he posted a 1-2 record to end his senior season with a 17-8 record. In June 2020, it was announced that Gaethje would be inducted into the University of Northern Colorado Athletics Hall of Fame for his achievements in wrestling.
Powerful Hands: One Of The Best Strikers Of The Division
As a two-time Arizona State high school champion and an NCAA Division I All-American, Gaethje has some of the best wrestling credentials in the UFC’s lightweight division. Despite his incredible wrestling background, the most impressive characteristic of Justin is his boxing skills, as he rarely looks for takedowns. He’s an impressive striker with 19 victories by knockout in 25 fights. He is well known for the knockout power in his punches, and his debilitating leg kicks. Recently, in an interview, Khabib said that Justin has the most powerful strikes he ever felt in his entire career.
After losing to Poirier in 2018 and being asked why he does not use his wrestling skills so often, Gaethje said, “I’ve been wrestling my whole life. I should’ve and could’ve taken him down a couple of times, especially when I had him rocked just to steal a round or two. For some reason, my mind will not let me do it. I think I sold myself so hard on the fact that this is not wrestling. It gets you tired. If I’m going to get tired, I’d rather it be from fighting and not from wrestling. That’s the reason why I never wanted to wrestle. But I did so much cardio this camp that it would not have been a problem for me to turn it into a wrestling match, but I just can’t do it, it would not be fun for me.”
Justin Gaethje Professional MMA Record
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event |
| Loss | 22–3 | Khabib Nurmagomedov | Technical Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 254 |
| Win | 22–2 | Tony Ferguson | TKO (punch) | UFC 249 |
| Win | 21–2 | Donald Cerrone | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje |
| Win | 20–2 | Edson Barboza | KO (punch) | UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje |
| Win | 19–2 | James Vick | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick |
| Loss | 18–2 | Dustin Poirier | TKO (punches) | UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje |
| Loss | 18–1 | Eddie Alvarez | KO (knee) | UFC 218 |
| Win | 18–0 | Michael Johnson | TKO (punches and knees) | The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale |
| Win | 17–0 | Luiz Firmino | TKO (doctor stoppage) | WSOF 34 |
| Win | 16–0 | Brian Foster | TKO (leg kicks) | WSOF 29 |
| Win | 15–0 | Luis Palomino | TKO (punches) | WSOF 23 |
| Win | 14–0 | Luis Palomino | TKO (leg kicks and punches) | WSOF 19 |
| Win | 13–0 | Melvin Guillard | Decision (split) | WSOF 15 |
| Win | 12–0 | Nick Newell | TKO (punches) | WSOF 11 |
| Win | 11–0 | Richard Patishnock | TKO (punches and elbows) | WSOF 8 |
| Win | 10–0 | Dan Lauzon | KO (punches) | WSOF 6 |
| Win | 9–0 | Brian Cobb | TKO (leg kicks) | WSOF 3 |
| Win | 8–0 | Gesias Cavalcante | TKO (doctor stoppage) | WSOF 2 |
| Win | 7–0 | Adrian Valdez | TKO (punches) | Rage in the Cage 164 |
| Win | 6–0 | Drew Fickett | KO (punch) | Rage in the Cage 163 |
| Win | 5–0 | Sam Young | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Rage in the Cage 162 |
| Win | 4–0 | Marcus Edwards | Decision (unanimous) | ROF 43: Bad Blood |
| Win | 3–0 | Donnie Bell | TKO (punches) | ROF 42: Who’s Next |
| Win | 2–0 | Joe Kelso | TKO (punches) | BTT MMA 2: Genesis |
| Win | 1–0 | Kevin Croom | KO (slam) | ROF 41: Bragging Rights |
Related Questions
Does Justin Gaethje know Jiu Jitsu? Justin Gaethje has no background in Jiu Jitsu and he is a white belt in this martial art. However, he is an exceptional D1 wrestler and it’s hard to imagine a professional MMA fighter that has zero BJJ knowledge.
