{"id":367327,"date":"2026-07-16T20:13:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=367327"},"modified":"2026-07-16T20:13:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:43:25","slug":"justin-gaethjes-loss-to-terence-crawford-at-espy-awards-slammed-by-ufc-stars-manager-its-crazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/justin-gaethjes-loss-to-terence-crawford-at-espy-awards-slammed-by-ufc-stars-manager-its-crazy\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Gaethje’s loss to Terence Crawford at ESPY Awards slammed by UFC star’s manager: ‘It’s crazy’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Follow us on Google Discover<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Justin Gaethje\u2019s incredible two wins in 2026 weren’t enough to net him an ESPY Award.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018The Highlight\u2019 has enjoyed the most effective 12 months of his UFC profession to this point, as he finally realized his dream of becoming undisputed lightweight champion.<\/p>\n

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After beating Paddy Pimblett to turn into a two-time interim titleholder, the division\u2019s unification fight saw Gaethje finish Ilia Topuria on the White House in one of the crucial memorable upsets of all time.<\/p>\n

That earned the American fan favorite the role of sole MMA representative on the list of \u2018Best Fighter\u2019 nominees on the 2026 ESPY Awards, nevertheless it was not enough to win Gaethje the prize.<\/p>\n

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Change my mind: Terence Crawford is the most effective fighter of his era<\/h3>\n

Is anyone higher than ‘Bud’? Tell us your thoughts within the comments below.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Terence<\/div>
Terence Crawford\u2019s profession accomplishments. Image credit: Chris Unger\/TKO Worldwide LLC via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Ali Abdelaziz reacts as Terence Crawford takes \u2018Best Fighter\u2019 ESPY over Justin Gaethje<\/h2>\n

The ESPY Awards ceremony took place on Wednesday night in Recent York City, covering the period between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.<\/p>\n

For the primary time since 2018, MMA fighters and boxers were grouped together in a single category, meaning Gaethje needed to go up against Terence Crawford, Claressa Shields, and Gabriela Fundora.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bud\u2019 ultimately emerged because the victor, nine months after his final fight before retiring. Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez last September to turn into the primary male boxer within the four-belt era to win the undisputed championship in three weight divisions.<\/p>\n

Despite that achievement, MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz was baffled to see the boxing legend outvote Gaethje to assert the ESPY.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy how Crawford wins ESPYs (award) over Justin Gaethje,\u201d Abdelaziz wrote on X<\/a>, before describing the result as \u201cmind blowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJustin won two fights in 6 months where in each fights he was an underdog and the last fight he was a 7 to 1 underdog,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images for Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some fans were quick to keep off on Abdelaziz\u2019s bemusement on the result, insisting that Crawford deserved the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like Justin but Crawford went up weight classes and won.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a much bigger underdog doesn\u2019t make it more impressive. Bud beating Canelo up 2 weight classes is more historic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAtrocious take.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCrawford is probably going the GOAT of his sport\/weight class. (Gaethje) won a fluke and can get killed within the rematch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCrawford dominated Canelo.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Follow us on Google Discover Justin Gaethje\u2019s incredible two wins in 2026 weren’t enough to net him an ESPY Award. \u2018The Highlight\u2019 has enjoyed the most effective 12 months of his UFC profession to this point, as he finally realized his dream of becoming undisputed lightweight champion. After beating Paddy Pimblett to turn into a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":367328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[1753,10113,3017,53217,16529,4974,670,550,2993,639,10112,3928],"class_list":["post-367327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-awards","tag-crawford","tag-crazy","tag-espy","tag-gaethjes","tag-justin","tag-loss","tag-manager","tag-slammed","tag-stars","tag-terence","tag-ufc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t