Aljamain Sterling sees a glaring weakness in Justin Gaethje’s jiu-jitsu game.
Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) takes on Paddy Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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With Gaethje’s two title-fight losses coming to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira by choke, Sterling hopes he doesn’t suffer the same fate against Pimblett, who has 10-career wins by submission.
“It’s non-existent,” Sterling said of Gaethje’s jiu-jitsu on his YouTube channel. “I’m sure Justin Gaethje would admit that his jiu-jitsu is non-existent. I don’t even know if he actually goes to jiu-jitsu class. He better for this fight. I swear to God, if this guy gets submitted with a rear-naked choke, I’m going to be pissed. It’s the most basic thing you could go and say I could learn this.”
That being said, Sterling thinks Gaethje’s recent tamed approach should help him prevail against Pimblett.
“I will say of late he has fought a lot smarter, a lot more intelligent. … He used his wrestling, too,” Sterling said. “If it was the Justin Gaethje of old, kind of like the one who fought Khabib, I would lean toward Paddy. But I think he has made enough improvements in his overall game that I would be really, really disappointed if this guy gets choked by rear-naked choke super early.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Aljamain Sterling critques Justin Gaethje’s jiu-jitsu ahead of UFC 324
