MJF makes bold statement ahead of his upcoming AEW World Title defense

AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman is unfazed ahead of his huge title defense. MJF will defend his world championship against Bandido this week.

The Salt of the Earth returned to AEW during the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite and immediately inserted himself into the world title picture by cashing in the Casino Gauntlet contract. At World’s End, the star used every underhanded tactic in the book to win a grueling and fatal four-way match and become the new AEW World Heavyweight Champion.

MJF will face Bandido in a highly anticipated singles clash for the gold medal at AEW Dynamite: maximum carnage. The match will be even more special as it mixes Bandido’s high-flying style with Friedman’s brutal ground assault. The challenger recently appeared in a video, training hard for the match. However, MJF was not impressed with the training program. He responded to the tweet by saying he would pin his opponent in a minute and a half, suggesting his first title defense won’t be much of a fight.

“Pin it in 1.5 minutes max,” the star wrote.

MJF is pumped for 2026

The 29-year-old star is full of confidence after beating Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page at the end of the world 2025.

In a recent post on Instagram, the star was called “The Champion” and said 2026 would be his year. Last week on Dynamite, The Salt of the Earth faced Bandido in the ring. The two stars had a heated promotional exchange. MFJ launched the assault and kicked his challenger below the belt. However, Bandido came back strong and neutralized the champion with a low kick of his own.

During his most recent reign, Friedman held the title for 406 days and became the longest reigning AEW World Champion in history. It will be interesting to see how Tony Khan books him during this title run.