Justin Gaethje (image via UFC/YouTube)

By FCF Staff

It sounds like Justin Gaethje doesn’t plan on hanging up the gloves in the short-term future. But, the decorated and entertaining fighter is thinking about when he should exit the sport.

The 34-year-old Gaethje is preparing for his July 29th rematch with Dustin Poirier, which will take place at UFC 291. The fight will be for the BMF title.

Recently, the former interim lightweight champ spoke with MMA Fighting. While discussing his future, Gaethje reported he has a timeline in mind, for hanging up the gloves.

“It’s just the fact of the matter that I would say, by 37, I would like to not be doing this anymore,” Gaethje said. “I’m 34 now. Two or three years is a long time, but in the grand scheme of things it’s not that long. I’ve been doing this for 12 or [13] years, so ultimately it’s the back end of my career in this sport. That’s just the train of thought that I had.

“We’re so emotional after these fights that I wouldn’t believe anything that we say for a week. It was just my thought process after. I’m not going to be here forever. I’m glad that you guys are here to enjoy this with me. I was really talking to the fans in that moment.”

Gaethje (24-4) is coming off a decision win over Rafael Fiziev in March. The former WSOF champ fought Poirier (29-7) in 2018 and was stopped in round four.