Justin Gaethje will make sure his mum retires after his fight against Khabib at UFC 254

Justin Gaethje is bracing for the biggest fight of his career as he prepares to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 254. The American MMA fighter is set to rake in upwards of $3 million for the fight against Khabib. As a result, the 31-year-old has claimed he will force his mother to retire after UFC 254, irrespective of which way the fight goes.

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Justin Gaethje mother: The Highlight wants his mother to retire

Justin Gaethje's mother, Carolina, is of Mexican descent. She has been working as a postmaster, a job which Gaethje revealed she has been doing for 35 years now. Meanwhile, his father, John, who is of German descent, retired last year after working as a copper miner at Morenci mine for 37 years. 

During this week's interview after the UFC 254 photoshoot, the 31-year-old got emotional as he hailed his parents for the years of sacrifices they made for him and his siblings. Justin Gaethje has a twin brother, Marcus, who also worked at the same mine that his father worked in. He has two sisters. 

"My parents have never flown international. They got to fly business class. They've never flown business class," he said. "My dad retired a little bit over a year ago - he worked 37 years in a copper mine. And my mum is going to retire after this. When this fight starts, when that bell rings at the beginning then I will secure that she will retire after this fight."

Also Read | Justin Gaethje Discards Interim Lightweight Title During UFC 254 Photoshoot With Khabib

The interim lightweight champion said he is happy that he is finally getting the opportunity to repay everything his parents did for him, his brother and his sisters. “Every piece of money they had, went into me and my brother and my sister, giving me the opportunities," he added. "We were two hours from any city. Going school-clothes shopping was a vacation for us. We’d get up and go to wrestling tournaments. We had to drive two to three hours. Sometimes, we’d have to stay the night. They financially took hits every single time we did that. Nothing is better than being able to repay that.”

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Justin Gaethje, 22-2, earned a shot at Khabib's lightweight title after he beat Tony Ferguson earlier this year to win the interim belt. The Arizona native scored a Round 5 TKO victory over Ferguson at UFC 249 in May 2020. In doing so, he extended his undefeated streak to four, having previously lost a fight in 2018. Meanwhile, Khabib is entering UFC 254 for his first fight in over a year. Injuries have kept The Eagle out of the octagon since he beat Dustin Poirier in September 2019 to retain his UFC gold. 

UFC 254 will be hosted at the Flash Forum Arena at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card is scheduled to start at 11:30 pm IST on Saturday, October 24.

Also Read | Dana White Confirms If Khabib Stops Gaethje, He’ll Become ‘No. 1 Pound-for-pound Fighter’

(Image Credits: Justin Gaethje Instagram)