Justin Gaethje has a golf date with the President of the United States, and he wants cash on the line.
The UFC lightweight champion told In The Corner with Destiny McCubbin that Donald Trump invited him to play during a recent lunch at the White House. Gaethje went with his parents about three weeks ago, and somewhere between courses the conversation turned to the links. Gaethje’s response was to propose a bet.
Gaethje said Trump told him the two of them are going golfing. He was upfront that they aren’t good friends, but he said the president loves to golf, so he told him he’d bet him money.
According to Gaethje, Trump took him up on it and said they’d be playing for money. Gaethje said taking the president’s money would be awesome.
No date for the round came up in the interview, and neither did a dollar figure. So we don’t know if this is a $20 Nassau or something that requires an accountant.
The Champ’s Offseason
Gaethje, 37, last fought at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House lawn in June. He won the lightweight title that night when Ilia Topuria quit on his stool after Round 4. It was a strange, loud night on a lawn better known for Easter egg rolls, and Gaethje walked off it with the belt.
He’s still paying for it. Gaethje said he went home for three weeks to recover, and the hands haven’t caught up yet. He said he still can’t punch anything, and both of his hands are still hurt from the fight.
A guy who can’t make a fist can still swing a driver, apparently. Gaethje said the weeks since have been mostly travel and a lot of golf. He recently got back from Hawaii, where he played in a charity tournament hosted by former featherweight champion and BMF titleholder Max Holloway. Gaethje has run four charity tournaments of his own and has another one set for November in his Arizona hometown.
Anyone who follows him on social media already knows the habit. His feeds are full of rounds with celebrities and fellow fighters. Trump was the name missing from the list, and Gaethje has called playing with him a bucket list item.
Quick Take
What I like about this is how little Gaethje dresses it up. Asked about a round with the most powerful man on the planet, he skipped the honor and privilege routine and said he wanted to win the man’s money. He even volunteered that the two of them aren’t close. Fighters who talk like that are rare, and Gaethje has been talking like that for his whole career.
The smart money says the president picks the course, and anyone who has played with a host on his home track knows what that does to the odds. Gaethje should get the stakes nailed down before the first tee. Then he should get his hands healed, because sooner or later he has to defend that belt, and nobody hands you a mulligan in the cage.
