Justin Gaethje hopes he gets the opportunity to challenge UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev . Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) will look to re-enter the title picture when he takes on Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in a five-round lightweight co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+ ) March 8 at UFC 313 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gaethje, a former interim lightweight champion, fell short twice in his pursuit for undisputed gold – suffering submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 274 . Makhachev has defended his lightweight title a division-record four times and already holds wins over top-ranked contenders Arman Tsarukyan, Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. However, he’s yet to fight Gaethje. “I want to fight Makhachev, he is the champ, and I do believe that he is a better matchup for me than Khabib,” Gaethje said during a Q&A on his YouTube channel .
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