Justin Gaethje
Wants to fight: [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]
The callout: “Khabib is the best in the world. I’ve been working since I was four for challenges like this, and I’m happy to represent the United State of the America against Dagestan, or Russia’s, best. He’s 28-0 and there’s no other challenge I want right now. I want to fight him.”
The reality: This one is a formality. After his career-defining (so far) performance to defeat Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] is now the clear No. 1 contender for Nurmagomedov’s 155-pound title. He might just be the biggest danger to “The Eagle’s” reign, too.
Gaethje’s respectful, but clear, callout was less a bid to get a fight, and more a case of stating the obvious. He wants to fight Khabib, and after that performance on Saturday night in Jacksonville, I suspect the rest of the world wants to see it, too. It’s the only fight to make and, with Khabib suggesting he’ll be ready to return by the summer, it looks like it’s a fight we’re likely to see pretty soon.
[opinary poll=”khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-justin-gaethje_mm-Xtnrso” customer=”mmajunkie”]
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