Justin Gaethje faces Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title unification encounter that will headline UFC 254. The pay-per-view event is scheduled to take place on October 24th at the UFC’s Fight Island venue in Abu Dhabi. Ever since the fight was advertised, fans have taken to social media to formulate their opinions on who will win the contest. While the widespread public appears to be split 50/50 between the winner, everyone can agree that the fight is Khabib’s toughest test to date. However, Khabib made it clear that he plans on finishing Gaethje.
Khabib Speaks on Finishing Justin Gaethje
Khabib recently appeared on Mike Swick’s podcast entitled “Real Quick With Swick.” During the program, Swick and Nurmagomedov spoke about a plethora of topics surrounding the main event title fight. They conversed regarding his training camp in Dubai, staying focused during fight week, his thoughts on Michael Chandler, and much more. But, what stood out was Khabib’s thoughts on the fight with Gaethje.
“Nobody can say what’s going to happen tomorrow. Nobody knows,” said Khabib. “But, my plan is… I want to finish this guy. I want to finish him, make him tired, and I want to show how I’ve improved from my last fight.”
“Every fight I show this (improvement.) (In) this fight, nothing change(s). I just want to finish him, this is my plan,” finished Khabib.
Improving for Finishes
Nurmagomedov is coming off of a dominant performance against Dustin Poirier nearly one exact year ago, ironically in Abu Dhabi. During the fight, Khabib was able to dominate his way past Dustin the same way he does with all of his opponents.
Improving on his last finish would mean getting another finish in a title defense. So far, Khabib has defended his title twice, with neck submission finishes.
Gaethje will be Khabib’s toughest test yet. However, if he plans on getting the finish, he will have to show his grappling dominance against an exceptional wrestler in Gathje’s own right.
