LINCOLN, Neb. – After a career-invigorating knockout of James Vick, Justin Gaethje wants to talk money.

“It should get me a business meeting with the UFC,” Gaethje told MMAjunkie after his win over Vick in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 135. “The way I put it on the line, I need all my money up front. And that’s how it should work for people like me.”

The former WSOF champ clarified that he’s not necessarily unhappy with the UFC. And, in fact, his previous career accomplishments enabled him to come in at a higher pay scale than the vast majority of fighters, to say nothing of the opponents he received out of the gate.

Still, Gaethje (19-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) feels like the work he does in the octagon should set as a benchmark for compensation.

“They should use me as an example,” he said backstage at Pinnacle Bank Arena. “If you want all your money, you fight like Justin Gaethje.”

On Saturday night, Gaethje’s order of business was to teach a lesson to Vick (13-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). The upstart talked mounds of trash leading up to the fight, and it was all taken personally.

“It’s going to be hard for him to look himself in the mirror tomorrow,” Gaethje said. “That was my plan. I want him to look at himself in the mirror tomorrow. He’s not going to.”

Gaethje flipped his opponent a double-bird salute after concussing him. But he kept his gloating to a minimum. Instead, Gaethje flipped off the octagon multiple times. And after that, he went to Vick and showed a bit of good sportsmanship.

“I said, ‘It’s what we do, man – it could have been me, it could have been you,'” Gaethje said. “I don’t want to (expletive) on that guy right now. He’s going to (expletive) on himself enough.

“You need to be true to yourself. If that is James, then (expletive) him. But I don’t think he’s that kind of guy. I’m glad that I taught him a lesson.”

With that, Gaethje moves on to the next chapter in his career. After a pair of losses, his stock is trending up again. And while he called for a fight with ex-interim champion Tony Ferguson, who’s scheduled to fight Anthony Pettis at UFC 229, a break is what he’d like next.

“I’ve fought four times in 13 months – give me a break,” Gaethje said. “I’ve never been to Hawaii, I’ve never been to Jamaica, I’ve never bought a house. Let me do some things before you put me back in camp.”

If Gaethje keeps on his current path of winning bonuses – he picked up his fifth one against Vick – he should be able to do a lot of things that suit his fancy. But a new contract with a bigger up-front fee and a pay-per-view clause probably wouldn’t hurt, either.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 135, check out the UFC Events section of the site.