‘The king of pre gaming’: Matty Johns’ beer with challenger’s dad after wild UFC weigh-in

Matty Johns is perched up at the bar of a Washington DC hotel, filling two pints of Miller Lite – again – while asking the biggest question of this craziest UFC fight week.

Specifically, can Justin Gaethje’s old man sink beers on the White House lawn?

“You know what? I dunno,” shrugs longtime Arizona copper miner John Ray Gaethje.

“First, I heard they were serving. Then I heard they weren’t.

“But I’ve never watched a fight of Justin’s without drinking. I don’t know if I can do it … I really don’t.”

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At which point, Johns suggests sanity must surely prevail.

“Because there’s been a lot worse things happen at The White House,” he grins. “Shout out to you Monica Lewinsky.”

And with that, the boys skol.

Kick starting an afternoon that, in a couple of hours from now – and after a couple more beers — will see Mr Gaethje join thousands of fans just down the road at The Ellipse, where his son hits the scales at the UFC Freedom 250 ceremonial weigh ins.

Despite being dubbed the most violent man in the world’s most violent sport, Gaethje remains an almost $6 outsider in his UFC White House headliner against lightweight king Ilia Topuria.

Yet The Highlight also brings a heavy dose of Americana.

And isn’t that what this whole thing is about?

For proof, consider a ceremonial weigh in show that took place in a heaving park where thousands of UFC fans converged to drink beers, meet fighters, ride mechanical bulls, hit punch machines, drink more beers, pose up with belts, in Octagons, and with those three, oversized red letters.

Then, drink more beers.

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And as for the weigh-in show itself?

OK, for that one think skydivers with pyrotechnics, and American flags, being joined by fireworks, beer snakes, Creedence Clearwater Revival on the loudspeakers, armed military in the crowds, Bud Lights, a US military drill crew … hell, even an American bald eagle soared over the masses and onto the stage to start proceedings.

Of course, you had Gaethje, too.

A fighter who is himself as American as Free Bird.

Officially, Gaethje weighed in at the lightweight championship limit of 155 pounds, as did Topuria

While in the co-main, and despite having once reigned as a UFC middleweight champion, Alex Pereira tipped the scales at 251 pounds for his heavyweight debut — three pounds heavier than opponent, Ciryl Gane.

Hokit, meanwhile, did Hokit s***.

Pretending to weigh in drunk at the official weigh ins Saturday morning, and at the UFC Fighter Hotel — which included hurling a couple of vomit chunks onto his bare chest.

Or maybe it was Apple Sauce.

Who knows?

But anyway, back to Gaethje.

Who come the evening ceremonials appeared to the crowd as American as apple pie.

“I was absolutely made for this s*** right here,” the challenger said on stage after hitting the mock scales. “I am blessed to be in this position, and I will take his ‘O’ from him tomorrow night. You watch.”

Topuria, unsurprisingly, disagreed.

“Joe,” he told compare Joe Rogan, “ever since I was a little kid, I always heard this code, the American Dream.

“And I never really understood that word.

“But tomorrow night I’m going to live the American dream. I’m going to get another victory, eighteen-and-oh. I’m going to get that victory with fashion.

“See you tomorrow night. Let’s go.”

Elsewhere on stage, Alex Pereira wore his tribal garb, Derrick Lewis gave away his shirt to the crowd, then pants, Michael Chandler jumped about like the Energizer Bunny, Dana White mouthed “f***ing unbelievable” to the fans and Josh Hokit … well, he again did Hokit s***.

Yep, it was that sort of day.

One that just before lunch, and in a cosy downtown bar, saw Johns conduct what has to be his most unlikely interview of fight week.

Understanding that only a day before watching his son challenge Topuria — and in no less than American president Donald Trump’s backyard – the elder Gaethje took up an invite to down beers with a fella he knew nothing about.

Worse, he thought they may be drinking Forsters.

Truly, this is how good a bloke Ray is.

Agreeing to meet up at the pub only 24 hours before the biggest fight of his son’s life.

And simply because his boy, arguably the most exciting UFC fighter of the modern era, had days earlier suggested he would.

Specifically, and also while being interviewed by Johns on Tuesday, Justin Gaethje outed his father as the type of bloke who could drink anyone under the table.

“Whoah, hang on a second,” Johns had said. “Give him my number …”

And guess what?

Mr Gaethje was given the offer.

And wonderfully, accepted.

Which is how after ensuring his son made weight at the official weigh-ins on Saturday morning, Gaethje snr then headed a few blocks north to drink with Johns … and while giving an insight into life as the parent of a fella dubbed your favourite fighter’s favourite fighter.

Or as Rogan likes to call Gaethje, the most violent man in the world’s most violent sport.

Speaking with Fox Sports Australia on Tuesday, Justin Gaethje was asked what chance Ray would be of finding himself a beer on the White House lawn?

“You know, that’s a good question,” he grinned. “I’ve got no idea.

“But my dad, he really is the king of pre gaming. So he’s going to be set no matter what.”

Initially raised in Bisbee, Arizona, Ray is a copper miner, and the son of a copper miner, who introduced his son, long before his time as a starring high school quarterback, to wrestling, aged four.

“And given he has a twin,” dad says, “he always had a wrestling partner”.

Ray has also been an MMA fan since the 80s, and recalls being sat watching fighters like Chuck Liddell as his then young son “was sat there right next to me”.

And now right throughout Justin’s rise, dad has been sat right there next to him – supporting his boy through the highs, the lows, and the incredible streak that is 15 UFC performance bonuses.

So as for how much longer Justin will be doing this, win or lose the title on Sunday?

“Not much longer,” Gaethje snr concedes. “Win or lose, he may retire.

“Win or lose, he may keep going.

“But is he ready to retire? We’re ready for him to retire. He’ll be 38. That’s getting up there for the sport.”

So as for how dad will spend fight day?

“Being on a Sunday this year, me and the wife will go to church,” Ray says.

Then from there?

“We’ll come home and chill,” he continues, “because it’s going to be a long night.

“With the uncertainty around the weather, we might get home at eleven o’clock at night. Or we mightn’t leave until two o’clock in the morning. Nobody knows.

“So we’ll hang at the hotel, then have a meal with our kids.”

At some point during the interview, Gaethje’s mum, Carolina, also joins the conversation.

“And you know,” she says looking at her husband, “he’s doing just what he loves … sitting at the bar, talking and drinking beer.”

So as for how mum is feeling on fight eve?

“Nervous,” she says, smiling now. “I’m excited for Justin … but nervous.”

So the secret to getting through?

“Lots of prayers,” she says.

At which point Ray jumps in, adding: “And we’ve got a lot of family and friends back home sharing those prayers with us, too.”.

And so as the beers flow, the Gaethjes will do their best to give an insight into one of the world’s most exciting fighters, while Johns does his best to explain everything from rugby league to kookaburras, and why nobody drinks Fosters Down Under.

Oh, yeah, he also devotes a few minutes to his infamous Uncle Herbie.

“Who was a miner, too,” Johns says. “But then he had a bad accident, got a great payout and dedicated the rest of his life to drinking.

“[Laughs] Honestly, it was his number one love. And he always stayed faithful.

“Herbie would go to the local every day and drink from 10 o’clock in the morning until 10 at night. One day dad asked the publican, ‘Athol, how many beers do you reckon Herbie drinks?’

“So they put him on a clip … and it was 36 schooners.“

Word of which quickly got about town.

“And a couple of young blokes,“ Johns continues, ”they bet Herbie $100 he couldn’t drink 50 schooners in a day. Well, he drank the 50 and then bought a flask of wine for the wife on the way home.”

And still, Johns wasn’t done.

“Herbie would holiday at a caravan park in Forster-Tuncurry,” he continued, as Mr Gaethje could only smile and shake his head.

“So he was at the pub one day and these young guys were told ‘hey, this is Cessnock’s number one drinker’.

“So the young blokes said, ‘We bet you can’t drink 10 schooners in 20 minutes’.

“So Herbie says, ‘Listen boys, I’ve got to go back to the caravan because my wife is cooking lunch. But I’ll be back after that to have a go’.

“But what he did, he went to another pub, worked out he could do it, then went back to the pub and did it again …”

A feat which impressed even Mr Gaethje.

A fella who come Sunday night’s event here in Washington DC – which will be shown live into Australia on Monday – will be on the lawn for all seven fights, which is capped off by his son.

So as for his beer dilemma?

“Well, you’d have to assume they are serving,” the son of America’s UFC headliner says hopefully. “But I dunno.

“I hope they are, I really do.

“It will be a different experience if they don’t.”