Justin Gaethje's gearing up for a title run, and the UFC star tells us he has the power to dethrone champ Islam Makhachev ... but he knows he has to earn the fight, and he's ready to run through Dustin Poirier to prove his worthiness!
34-year-old Gaethje, the #3 ranked UFC lightweight, joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where we talked about everything from who he wants next, to how he'd fare against the current champ, to how much longer he sees himself fighting, and Conor McGregor recently calling him "handicap" on Twitter.