UFC President Dana White has confirmed a date for the much anticipated title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.
The pair are set to do battle on October 24th at UFC 255, although no location has been set for the card.
Many were curious to see when Khabib would return, given the recent tragic passing of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Khabib is coming off a win in his last fight against perennial contender Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier. Nurmagomedov did find himself in danger in that fight, when the challenger seemingly secured a tight guillotine choke, however, for the most part, it was a typical, dominant performance from the 155lb champion.
It needs no reiteration that Khabib's bear-like wrestling and constant pressure is the main focal point for his offence. "The Eagle" has also demonstrated a solid striking game, out-landing his opponents 2.49 to 1 in significant strikes, though many of them are ground strikes. In his fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 229, Khabib dropped the Notorious One (who is regarded as one of the best and most elusive strikers in MMA today) in the second round. This showed that the Russian fighter is not as one-dimensional as many thought.
So, how about Justin? The interim champion is coming off an absolute war with the man who many speculated would be the one to beat Khabib, Tony Ferguson. So does this mean that "The Highlight" could be the one to topple Nurmagomedov? Not exactly, no. However, he does possess all the tools to potentially negate the champion's high pressure, high-intensity wrestling. Now, let's break it down.
The question is, what does Justin Gaejthe bring to the table that makes this fight so exciting? Well, first of all, his nickname is literally "The Highlight", so we know either way we are in for a full-throttle and action-packed fight. One of the most interesting points about this fight, and one that is often ignored due to Justin's reluctance to attempt a takedown, is that Gaethje is an NCAA Division One All-American. Such a high level of wrestling could cause the lightweight champion problems in landing the all-important takedown. Now we're not saying that Khabib will struggle to get the fight to the ground, but it may prove more difficult and he could expel a lot of energy in attempting to land that pivotal takedown.
What else? Justin Gaejthe is the epitome of chaos. His forward pressing style, along with some of the nastiest leg kicks in the game are enough to cause any fighter serious problems. Justin has finished his last four opponents, all via KO/TKO, with three of them failing to make it out of the first round. He also lands an astounding 7.74 significant strikes PER MINUTE. Couple this with amazing cardio and heart, you've got one hell of a problem on your hands. It will be interesting to see how the champion deals with the blood and guts style of the 31-year-old challenger.
So back to the question. Can Justin "The Highlight" Gaethje beat Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov? In theory, yes. The challenger has all of the tools to beat the reigning champion, however, if he will be able to implement his game plan remains an unknown. One thing we do know for certain is that we are in for an absolute barn burner on October 24th.
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