Justin Gaethje revealed that UFC CEO Dana White had said that his earlier fight against Dustin Poirier was a title eliminator. However, after winning, the executive recently announced that instead of him, lightweight champ Islam Makhachev will fight the winner of the Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan fight. Despite this, Gaethje has hopes that “anything can change.”

Gaethje will be facing Max Holloway for the BMF title in April. The announcement was a surprise for many, especially since Makhachev had earlier expressed his intent to meet Gaethje instead of the Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan winner. According to Gaethje, there was also an instance where White promised the title shot to him, making the sudden change in UFC’s plan really unexpected.

“We’ve been here so many times where they say one thing and then someone gets a cut in their eye, a fight goes a specific way, it’s a draw, it’s a no contest,” Gaethje told ESPN MMA‘s Brett Okamoto. “There’s so many factors that can happen and so yeah, I thought that me and Poirier, I’m pretty sure he said, actually I can’t say but I want to say that he (White) said that was a title eliminator fight.”

Unfortunately for Gaethje, the promotion giant has a new plan for Makhachev. Aside from pursuing another promised title shot for Oliveira, the scene has become more complicated with the entrance of Tsarukyan, who made a remarkable KO win over Beneil Dariush. With this, the Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan winner has been arranged, leaving Gaethje outside the title conversation.

Despite that, “The Highlight” believes that he can make things change when he makes an impressive performance in his next BMF fight. For the fighter, “There’s gonna be two contenders coming out that night.” Aside from that, the No. 2-ranked lightweight fighter believes that the only constant thing is changes, which the promotion proved in its recent decisions.

“I fought that fight, I got a knockout in the second round, beautiful knockout, beautiful finish against the number two guy in the world, a veteran in Dustin Poirier,” Gaethje recalled. “I’m pretty sure he (White) said it, I’m not gonna hold him to it because I love the fact that anything can change and my life, quarter mile at a time, that’s how I’ve lived since day one.”

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