Nurmagomedov Bigs Up Gaethje
It appears increasingly likely that Khabib Nurmagomedov will be competing soon.
Nurmagomedov is expected to face current interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in a title unification fight later this year. However, many observers were skeptical of him competing as they felt it depended on how things progressed with his father who is currently hospitalized in Moscow, Russia.
For now, at least, it looks like Nurmagomedov does plan on facing Gaethje in the near future. He hyped up “The Highlight” with a recent Instagram video post showing Gaethje’s best moments inside the Octagon.
“My next opponent,” Nurmagomedov wrote in the caption.
It follows Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz recently claiming that “The Eagle” was using his father’s condition as motivation during his recent training sessions.
“I think Khabib’s father being sick has motivated him more,” Abdelaziz said. “He’s training every day, two times a day. He’s in camp already. Me and him were talking and I said, ‘Hey, get your mind off, do what you need to do.’ He’s always training. He’s a true mixed martial artist. Same with Gaethje. They are both great guys and they want to fight. It’s a dream fight.”
As for when a fight can happen, recent reports stated September 19 as a potential date with the title unification bout headlining UFC 253. Hopefully, that ends up being the case.
Do you think we’ll see Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje soon?