Justin Gaethje believes he will take Khabib Nurmagomedov into uncharted waters when they clash this weekend.
The pair will compete in a highly-anticipated lightweight title unification fight in the UFC 254 headliner on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
“The Highlight” notably earned the opportunity to face Nurmagomedov following his impressive fifth-round TKO win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 back in May. In that bout, Gaethje delivered a number of powerful strikes that bloodied and bruised Ferguson until the latter could no longer compete. In the process, he inflicted Ferguson’s first defeat since 2012.
Gaethje: I Create Damage
Gaethje had praise for Ferguson’s ability to take those strikes and believes he enjoys receiving damage.
The same, however, cannot be said for Nurmagomedov which is why Gaethje plans on being the first fighter to truly hurt him.
“I create damage,” Gaethje told Morning Kombat in a recent interview. “If I barely miss and barely clip you, it’s damage. Damage is done. In a 25-minute fight I will create damage one way or another.
“The thing about Tony (Ferguson) is that Tony loves that. One thing I am sure about Khabib is that he does not love that.”
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Although Nurmagomedov has been tagged a couple of times inside the Octagon — notably by Michael Johnson and Dustin Poirier — he is yet to truly be hurt by an opponent so far.
It would be all the more impressive if things remain that way after UFC 254.
