Gaethje credits Oliveira for win but 'cannot wait to break his face'

Justin Gaethje has changed his tune on Charles Oliveira.

Gaethje was impressed by Oliveira's defense of the lightweight title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 on Saturday.

"I absolutely loved it," Gaethje told UFC reporter Megan Olivi. "I will give no disrespect to Charles. He is now the undisputed champion."

"The Highlight" was critical of the champion ahead of the matchup, calling him a "quitter" and saying, "There's no dog in that man."

However, Oliveira secured a third-round submission win after a difficult opening frame in which Poirier landed hard shots and tagged him on the feet. Gaethje said he thought Poirier would start to take over midway through the fight.

The former interim champ is expected to get the next title shot against Oliveira and "cannot wait to fight him."

"I don't care where or when, but yeah. I saw a competitor tonight, I saw a dog, and I cannot wait to break his face," Gaethje said. "He gets hit a lot, and he better pray and hope … until our fight that he takes me down and gets his choke. Because if not, we see what happens."