From 80 cents in New York to untouched UFC title cheque: Gaethje's remarkable rise

Justin Gaethje, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, says he has not touched the paycheque from his title-winning victory over Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 — a detail that takes on added weight given where his financial journey began.

Speaking to UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson, Gaethje recalled his first televised fight in 2013 under the World Series of Fighting banner. He was due to earn $8,000 but was accidentally paid $10,000. Flush with what felt like a fortune, he took his family to New York City for the first time. The celebration came to an abrupt halt on Sunday morning when he went to an ATM and found his account frozen because of the payment error.

“I had maybe 80 cents in my account,” Gaethje told Johnson. “We went to New York City; I took my family; we had never been before. On Sunday, I went to the ATM, put it in and they froze my account and I had zero dollars in New York City until Monday morning. So that day was absolutely terrible.”

Gaethje described the experience as “absolutely terrible” but also formative. He says he eventually received the money, only to spend it within a month — a cycle that repeated itself multiple times in the early stages of his career. Notably, he insists the spending was never extravagant: the money went almost entirely on food.

“I thought I was rich for life, blew it in one month. Did it again, thought I was rich, went broke, did it many times. I didn’t buy anything; I just bought food. Life was so easy back then,” he said.

The contrast with his current situation could hardly be sharper. Gaethje captured the UFC lightweight title with a victory over Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250, cementing his status as one of the sport’s elite fighters. Yet despite the significantly larger paycheque that came with that historic win, he says it remains untouched.

“My last paycheck, I haven’t touched it,” Gaethje confirmed.

The anecdote offers a rare, candid window into the financial precarity many fighters face in the early stages of their careers, even those who go on to reach the top of the sport.