LAS VEGAS — Justin Gaethje definitely knows how to make a debut. A striking one, at that.
The lightweight newcomer went toe-to-toe with UFC veteran Michael Johnson in the Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale on Friday night, scoring a second-round TKO win that left everyone’s jaws agape at T-Mobile Arena. That’s because Gaethje not only took severe punishment — he dished it out, too, as the staggering significant-strikes stats provided by the UFC showed.
For comparison, only one other fighter on the TUF 25 Finale card — James Krause — threw more significant strikes, with 106, according to FightMetric.com. However, Krause did that in three full rounds. Gaethje and Johnson hit their numbers in a shade less than two.
FightMetric.com actually had the strike counts as 104 for Gaethje and 91 for Johnson, and the numbers are even more impressive when broken down by round and target.
Fight of the year? Yep, fight of the year.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
