Fans have been anxious to see when Khabib Nurmagomedov would unify his title against Justin Gaethje. Now it seems that this fight will go down this fall.
It was originally expected that Khabib would face off against Tony Ferguson in April, in one of the most highly anticipated fights in UFC history. Unfortunately the global health crisis put a halt to these plans, as Khabib got stuck in Russia and could not leave the country. As a result, Tony would accept a bout with Justin Gaethje for the interim title instead. Unfortunately he came up short, getting battered by Justin before the TKO stoppage.
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Following that fight, the immediate question was when Khabib Nurmagomedov would unify the title against Gaethje. Of course this became less of a priority when Khabib’s father became sick, but there were still questions as to when these two may face off. Well now, according to reports, the UFC is hoping to book this fight for UFC 253, which is expected to take place on September 19th.
Although not yet official, this will be almost exactly a year since the last time Khabib fought. His last outing was his second title defense, against Dustin Poirier, in Abu Dhabi. Of course the aforementioned Ferguson bout was scheduled, but did not come to pass.
As for Gaethje, this will be his second fight of 2020, as he is riding a four-fight winning streak. He has always been an exciting and talented fighter, but he has turned things up a notch lately. These changes led him to finish Tony Ferguson, Donald Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and James Vick, all by knockout.
Who do you have winning a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje, provided it goes down at UFC 253?