Gaethje first fought on television in 2013
World Series of Fighting banner. He was supposed to earn $8,000 but was mistakenly paid $10,000. Gaethje went to New York to celebrate with his family. But he realized when he went to the ATM that his bank account had been frozen due to a payment error, leaving him essentially penniless.
Justin Gaethje recalls being broken early in his career before defeating Ilia Topuria for the UFC title.
Gaethje said he had an “absolutely horrible” Sunday after his bank account was frozen. He recalls feeling rich and spending his first paycheck within a month. “The Highlight” didn’t buy anything fancy, spending his money almost entirely on food, and claims the cycle repeats itself over and over again.
Now he is one of the most successful athletes in this sport
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder claims he has yet to touch his paycheck for historic title win Ilia Topuria at
UFC Freedom 250.
“The first time I fought on TV, World Series of Fighting, I was supposed to get paid $4,000/4 grand (show/win) and they accidentally paid me $5,000/5,000. It was a Saturday night and they gave me a check for $10,000,” Gaethje told the UFC Hall of Famer. Demetrius Johnson. “I had maybe 80 cents in my account. We went to New York; I took my family; we had never been before. Sunday I went to the ATM, put it in and they froze my account and I had zero dollars in New York until Monday morning. So that day was absolutely terrible. But then I thought I was rich for life, I blew it in one month. I did it several times, I thought I did it again, I went several times buy something i just bought then my last paycheck i haven’t touched it.
