Gaethje’s former opponent, Eddie
Alvarez, recently shared insight on what makes him tick.
Interim champion Gaethje (27-5) challenges Ilia
Topuria (17-0) for the lightweight title in the
UFC White House: Freedom 250 main event on June 14. Alvarez
advised Gaethje to rely on his signature leg kicks. Alvarez also
believes Gaethje’s best chance at knocking out Topuria is in
between exchanges. According to Alvarez, Topuria’s eyesight is too
sharp for Gaethje to land flush while leading the attack.
Meanwhile, Alvarez also sees holes in Gaethje’s defense. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion notes that
Gaethje takes his eyes off his opponents, which is a recipe for
getting knocked out. Alvarez also doesn’t like Gaethje’s defensive
style of shelling up instead of moving and cutting angles.:
“The calf kicks is what he would have to do,” Alvarez said on the
Full Send podcast. “And then I would also want him to punch with
Ilia. So when Ilia goes, he has to go — same time. I think
[Gaethje’s] best shot at catching him is catching him in between
Ilia’s exchanges. I think Ilia has too sharp eyes for Justin to
lead and catch him… Ilia is crazy poised, his eyes are on all the
time, and he has great posture… Justin has a tendency to lose his
eyes. So in between exchanges, his eyes are not on his opponent.
They are way over [to the side]. And that’s like knockout city. One
other bad habit Justin has is, he hard covers. He stays right
there, doesn’t pop out, doesn’t get an angle, he shells up, and he
hard covers. Which I always felt is a terrible defense in MMA.”
Alvarez had knocked Gaethje out with a knee to the chin in their
UFC 218 clash in 2017. The only damage Gaethje had managed to land
was with his calf kicks.
Eddie
Alvarez breaks down how Justin
Gaethje can beat Ilia
Topuria“I think his best shot is catching him in between Ilia’s exchanges.
Ilia has too sharp of eyes for Justin to lead and catch him. Justin
has to be brave and go in between, when Ilia goes then Justin has
to go” pic.twitter.com/VrDthZUWet— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma)
June 9, 2026