Khabib Nurmagomedov respects Justin Gaethje but he has no plans to take it easy on “The Highlight.”
Nurmagomedov is the UFC lightweight champion, while Gaethje holds the interim gold. The two are set for a title unification bout on Oct. 24. The 155-pound title match will headline UFC 254. A location hasn’t been revealed but UFC president Dana White says it’ll likely be held in Abu Dhabi.
Khabib Wants To Drown Gaethje In The ‘Deepest Ocean’
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan posted a video on Instagram of Gaethje hitting the pads with Trevor Wittman. Khabib hopped in the comment section and said the following (h/t Chamatkar Sandhu).
“Justin is a very nice guy and good opponent for me, but when octagon close he have to be ready not only boxing match, I’m not Dustin or Tony. I will take him to the deepest ocean and drown him.”
Nurmagomedov hasn’t competed since Sept. 2019 when he submitted Dustin Poirier. “The Eagle” was set to return at UFC 249 against Tony Ferguson but travel issues due to the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to that. Gaethje ended up filling in and defeating Ferguson to capture the interim gold via fifth-round TKO.
“The Eagle” wanted to return as soon as July. Unfortunately, Nurmagomedov’s father fell ill and eventually passed away at the age of 57. Nurmagomedov took some time to mourn but it appears he’s ready to roll.
Gaethje is riding a four-fight winning streak. In that span, Gaethje has beaten Ferguson, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and James Vick. Nurmagomedov has a perfect pro MMA record of 28-0.
