Inspiring Hope: Justin Gaethje's Mission Beyond UFC Fighting EXCLUSIVE

"Although we're doing it through violence, I know that my actions are inspiring people."

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Cage fighting isn't something you'd normally associate with philanthropy and helping the disadvantaged, but for the UFC's Justin Gaethje, it's a funnel to help him inspire those in need.

Possessing a bachelor's degree in Human Services, 'The Highlight's' dream career has always been to do social work with at-risk youth; MMA was merely a means to fund these aspirations.

Speaking to MMAKnockout's Mat Riddle, Gaethje outlined whether these plans are still on the table, especially after a hefty $300K bonus from UFC 300.

Q: Back in 2015, when you were still in the WSOF you outlined plans to go into working with troubled youth. Are those plans still around? Are you working on that post-retirement?

"The crazy thing is I think I'm doing that through my fighting you know?" Gaethje said. "There you know, I'm not going to do an interview where people see me --- what I consider not a good person. I love to help people. I love to inspire people. Although we're doing it through violence, I know that my actions are inspiring people.

"I know that my fortitude and resilience in that cage, you know, really is relatable to people from all across the world and hopefully to the youth. And yeah, I think it's not the most traditional way of doing what I wanted to do, but I do think I am doing that just now, with my fighting through my fighting.

"... In between fights is when I get out, get to go out and go to different events and meet a lot of different people. I think I just love to help people, so that's never gonna go away, whether that was before my career after my career during my career. That's something that I enjoy something that brings me peace, and something [I'll] always strive to do, you know, no matter what I'm doing."

Q: Could this manifest in a charity? Or are you going to [keep it in martial arts?]

"I travel a lot, and I get to meet new people all the time," Gaethje responded. "And I get to have different conversations with every single person that I interact with. Each person has different things going on in their life, and I'm able to help you in any way that I could, whether that just be having a conversation, taking a picture, talking about the specific issues going on in someone's life.

"But I don't have a plan right now, I do do tournaments I do golf tournaments, I go to as many golf tournaments, and I'm involved in as many charity events as I possibly can be. For right now, that's where it's at. But, you know, I'm not sure what the result."

Fans might be privy to some of Gaethje's philanthropism as part of his new collaboration with OFTV, where he'll provide exclusive insight into his everyday life as an elite athlete. The teaser for his first episode can be watched for free here.

"Honestly, for me, the best part [about the OF platform] is the ability to interact with my fans," Gaethje admitted. "You know, through the messaging platform. .... All my YouTube content that I used to put on YouTube [is] moving over to OnlyFans and it's still free and it's free for everybody.

"I didn't want to piss people off by putting my YouTube series 'Behind the Curtain' behind a paywall, because I didn't think that was fair. ... I've given it to people for free and I want it to continue to be free.

"... And yeah, just who knows what other kind of content - hopefully videos of me outdoors, camping, fishing, golf, and just [being] normal. I think people respect that side of me too. And so I want to share that side as well."

Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA.