“He’s not Khabib,” Justin Gaethje aims to prove if Islam Makhachev can match Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legacy
Justin Gaethje wants a shot at the lightweight title after Islam Makhachev's impressive win at UFC 294.
Justin Gaethje wants to fight Islam Makhachev (Image via Imago)
Justin Gaethje acknowledged Islam Makhachev‘s performance at UFC 294. He commended Makhachev for his dominant victory over Alexander Volkanovski. Gaethje revealed that he now wishes to take a shot at Islam Makhachev and the UFC lightweight title.
Justin Gaethje believes Islam Makhachev would have earned the same victory over the initially intended contender for the title fight. He said that Makhachev would have achieved the same result against Charles Oliveira as he did against Volkanovski. Gaethje reflected on his own fight against Oliveira and pondered on the Dagestani’s potential in a fight against him. He said of Makhachev at the post-fight show for UFC 294:
I’ve said he’s not Khabib [Nurmagomedov], but he might be, so I just want to go out there and figure it out.
Justin Gaethje was already in line for the next title shot. Nonetheless, UFC CEO Dana White stressed that the next opportunity must go to Oliveira, who backed out of UFC 294 due to injury.
Gaethje is determined to cement his status as the top contender. The Human Highlight asserted that he is now #2 on the rankings after his recent victory over Dustin Poirier. He expressed his eagerness to face Makhachev.
Regardless of Charles Oliveira being ahead of him, Justin Gaethje believes that his matchup against Islam Makhachev would present a fresh and exciting matchup that people will be eager to enjoy.
Islam Makhachev suggests Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira rematch for title shot
Charles Oliveira was supposed to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. Meanwhile, Justin Gaethje recently captured the BMF title with a knockout win over Dustin Poirier. Both are undeniable contenders in the lightweight title race.
Islam Makhachev proposed that the two of them should square off against each other. Makhachev said that the rematch would determine a clear number-one contender for the championship belt. He said in the post-fight conference at UFC 294:
I’m pretty sure that after this fight, there’s already two definite opponents that are ready for a fight with me…I think the two of them should fight each other so we have an actual No. 1 contender for the belt.
Notably, Oliveira and Gaethje had already fought each other at UFC 274. Charles Oliveira won the fight via first-round submission. If not for the injury, UFC 294 would have been Oliveira’s shot at the UFC lightweight title, after he was stripped of the title for missing weight.
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Neial Nishant Bhuyan
(1679 Articles Published)