Justin Gaethje tells Joe Rogan: ‘I gotta touch Khabib four times and then he’s compromised’

Justin Gaethje scored the biggest victory of his career when he defeated Tony Ferguson in the UFC 249 main event on May 9 in Jacksonville, Fla. In doing so, he earned an even bigger fight. No, not Conor McGregor. Gaethje will next face UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, likely in September on UFC Fight Island.

The victory over Ferguson made Gaethje the interim UFC lightweight champion. When he faces Khabib, it will be to unify the belts.

While many people placed Gaethje as the underdog to Ferguson, he and coach Trevor Wittman devised the perfect strategy to earn an impressive fifth-round stoppage of the dynamic fighter.

Undefeated at 28-0, Khabib is nowhere near as dynamic as Ferguson, but perhaps even more dangerous because of his wrestling dominance. He is extremely good at getting fighters to the ground, holding them there, and then pummeling them.

Gaethje believes that, similar to the Ferguson fight, he can stop Khabib’s most dangerous weapon, takedowns along the fence, and force him into a dangerous fight in the middle of the Octagon, where Gaethje’s striking is unmatched.

Watch as Gaethje and Wittman break down the upcoming Khabib bout with UFC commentator Joe Rogan on his JRE podcast.

(Video courtesy of JRE Clips)

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