WSOF champ Justin Gaethje: 'I had to throw up from the adrenaline rush'

Luis Palomino and Justin Gaethje

A tornado of punches, knees and kicks led Justin Gaethje to the second defense of his WSOF lightweight title at this past Saturday’s WSOF 19 event. It also produced a visceral physical response after his fight was called off.

Gaethje (14-0) had his hand raised in the third round of a meeting with Luis Palomino (23-10), which undoubtedly will go down as a contender for “Fight of the Year.” Then he went backstage, and the thrill of victory gave way to another sensation.

“I had to throw up from the adrenaline rush,” the WSOF champ today told MMAjunkie Radio. “Other than that, man, I was just happy. I was content with how I performed.”

WSOF 19 took place at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix. The main card aired on NBCSN with prelims streaming live on MMAjunkie.

Despite evidence to the contrary, Gaethje said Palomino never put him in danger of being stopped by punches (watch the Gaethje vs. Palomino video highlights). He said most of the shots landed on his forehead, allowing him to get close and wage a counterattack that included bruising kicks to the challenger’s left leg.

By the third round, Palomino had flopped to the canvas and appeared close to quitting. With a few more well-placed kicks and punches, he could no longer intelligently defend himself, which forced the referee’s intervention at the 3:57 mark of the frame.

Just two rounds earlier, Palomino valiantly fought back after taking several heavy punches and kicks to the head. The response was exactly what Gaethje expected.

“I can’t speak for him, but I said numerous times that I was in for it, and I knew I was going to have to dig deep, and he wasn’t going to go down – I had to make him quit, and I did that,” he said.

Gaethje took note of online detractors who said his victory was less than pristine, but he made no apologies for the dogged way he pursued the fight.

“I have one goal, and that’s to entertain people,” he said. “But I’ve definitely heard all the negative, too, about how sloppy we are and how tired we were. It’s just crazy. Obviously, those people have never thrown a punch.

“I was never stanky-legging, but there were a couple times where I was maybe a little buzzed,” he added later. “There’s a difference between a little buzzed and all of a sudden looking somewhere where you didn’t think you were looking, but that didn’t happen against Palomino.”

After a grudge match this past November with UFC vet Melvin Guillard ended in a split-decision, non-title victory, Gaethje now finds himself awaiting challengers in the WSOF.

Inevitably, calls for a move to the UFC will accompany his career as he continues to impress inside the cage. But the champ said he is happy where he is, and the reason that’s so, he said, is because his compensation matches his level of output.

“I would be a coward to sit here and say I’m the best and not go to the UFC and try to fight the best in the world,” he said. “But right now, I believe that I should be getting the top dollar out of any dollar for what I put into my fights and the risks I take. So it has to be worth it to me, and right now, it’s working for me over at (WSOF).

“Until the UFC can make it worth it to leave, then I’m more than happy to go. But I’m here for the (WSOF) company, and the company’s here for me.”

For more on WSOF 19, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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