UFC: Justin Gaethje says he channelled Bruce Lee in Tony Ferguson win – ‘be water’
- New interim lightweight champ took inspiration from Lee’s famous motto as he tried to stay ‘emotionless’ at UFC 249
- ‘You can’t be swayed by anything … that’s all he’s [Lee] saying, just flow. Be comfortable, be content’
Justin Gaethje gives his head coach Trevor Wittman all the credit for transforming him into the fighter he is today, or “The Highlight 2.0” if you will.
But the new interim lightweight champion revealed he also used another famous source of inspiration for his shock fifth-round TKO win against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.
Amid the chaotic peacefulness of going to war with “El Cucuy” in an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville Florida, Gaethje was channelling none other than Hong Kong martial arts icon, and the grandfather of MMA himself, Bruce Lee.
“I’ve watched it [the fight] a few times. It was a masterpiece. It was really dope,” Gaethje told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “I fought a fantastic fight, very smart.
“I have a great coach. In that setting [an empty arena] it’s so much more clear. You guys saw 20-second clips of me and Trevor talking. We had five minutes straight of us talking that you guys never saw. In that spot on that night, we go to work. I trust what he’s saying.
“It was the perfect setting. I was subconsciously processing – I never heard him but when you watch the fight I’m hearing everything. The time I put in to be able to subconsciously react to what I’m getting, being in that setting with the crowd not there.
“You’re emotionless. You can’t be swayed by anything, nothing can deter you from having a clear mind. You’ve heard so many legends, like Bruce Lee ‘be water’.
“What does be water mean? It’s just, it flows, and that’s all he’s saying, just flow. Be comfortable. Be content.”
Gaethje said he knew from his first three fights with Wittman that there was “something different” about the way he was fighting.
“It was so fast and I wasn’t sure but man, it’s a choice. We made choice, me and Trevor. I didn’t just all of a sudden get these skills, they didn’t just appear these last four fights.
“I’ve always had these skills but I made a choice to fight a certain way. That’s obviously the most clear thing to me now.”
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