- Josh Thomson thinks Justin Gaethje is the fighter that could put Islam Makhachev at risk
- “The Punk” believes “The Highlight” did well against Khabib Nurmagomedov and could also do the same against Makhachev
Josh Thomson expounded why he insists that among the top lightweight contenders, Justin Gaethje will be the toughest challenge for Islam Makhachev.
Justin is very dangerous
Speaking on his Weighing In podcast with John McCarthy, Thomson anointed Gaethje as the “hardest fight” for Islam at this point. According to “The Punk,” Makhachev has a huge advantage on “The Highlight” on the ground. However, Gaethje is “very dangerous” in the standup and Makhachev could be at risk as he sometimes tends to stay on the feet for too long.
“I believe right now out of all of them, the hardest fight for him is Justin Gaethje,” Thomson said. “You say no because of the wrestling, and I understand why you say no. But I say this, Islam has a tendency sometimes to stand in the pocket a little bit too long, and he can’t afford to do that with Justin… Justin’s not someone who sits in that clinch for too long. He’s good at breaking out of the clinch. He’s good at keeping you out of that clinch area and letting his hands go. Dirty boxing, uppercuts, he possesses the power to land the shot out of the break. He’s a dangerous fight for Islam, very dangerous.”
#MMATwitter @Justin_Gaethje supreme Takedown Defense 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0KYEQfbyF3
— Gato_MMA (@Gato_MMA) December 4, 2023
Justin proved it against Khabib
Thomson added that Gaethje has already proven that he does well against fighters like Makhachev and everybody saw it when he performed well against Khabib Nurmagomedov early in the fight.
“His only weakness in this fight is that if his back hits the ground, it could be over quick. And I’m saying it will potentially hit there, but I say that if you’re going to look at who is the most dangerous fight for him, and we saw it with Khabib in the first round. Khabib took some big shots from Justin in that first round, and Khabib just walked him down. Islam’s not going to fight him that way. He can’t afford to fight him that way. He can’t afford to take the shot that Khabib took. He can’t, and he’s got to close that distance to get to that takedown,” Thomson cited.
As it stands, Makhachev is still yet to be booked for his next title fight. If it’s up on him, Islam wants to take on a fresh opponent like Gaethje rather than train in another full camp for rematches.
Check out Thomson’s full podcast below:
