Published 10:56 IST, September 19th 2020
Dana White believes Justin Gaethje will hand Khabib his most "dangerous" test yet
Khabib Nurmagomedov has defeated numerous tough fighters in the past, but Dana White believes Justin Gaethje will give him the most trouble in the octagon.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has defeated numerous tough fighters in the past, but UFC president Dana White believes Justin Gaethje will give Nurmagomedov his toughest test yet inside the octagon. The undefeated lightweight champion is scheduled to face the interim champion in a title unification bout at UFC 254 on October 24, 2020. The event will take place at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, marking UFC’s return to the iconic “Fight Island”. Apart from UFC 254, UFC 253 headlined by Adesanya vs Costa and two Fight Nights will also take place on the Island.
Dana White has his say on Justin Gaethje vs Khabib Nurmagomedov
While promoting the events, Dana White sat down with BT Sports where he claimed that Justin Gaethje “is the most dangerous type of fighter for Khabib Nurmagomedov”. Dana White said that Justin Gaethje’s wrestling is ‘on point’ and he has some vicious knockout power. In the past, Justin Gaethje has not used his wrestling skills, but against Khabib Nurmagomedov, it could come in handy. In other words, Justin Gaethje is impressive on both his feet and on the ground, which means he can cause some trouble for Khabib Nurmagomedov who majorly depends on his groundwork.
While talking about Khabib Nurmagomedov, the conversation shifted to his arch-rival Conor McGregor, who he defeated at UFC 229 via a rear-naked choke in the fourth round. Even though the fight was impressive, Khabib Nurmagomedov was in the driving seat from start to finish. Despite that, Dana White still lauded Conor McGregor’s performance and labelled it impressive.
“I think because Conor is such a huge superstar and because Conor talks so much, people don’t actually give Conor that much credit that he deserves for how good and how tough he really is. If you look at the fight between him and Khabib, impressive,” said Dana White.
Michael Chandler to serve as backup for Khabib vs Gaethje
A couple of days ago, Dana White told ESPN’s SportsCenter that three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler has signed a contract with UFC. Michael Chandler left Bellator a couple of weeks ago and will now serve as a potential replacement for either Khabib Nurmagomedov or Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Fans were excited to hear about Michael Chandler’s arrival as the former Bellator champ has been hailed as one of the best lightweights of all time by multiple critics.
Image Source: AP, UFC Twitter
Updated 10:56 IST, September 19th 2020