Justin Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson atUFC 249 in Florida on Saturday.- After his win, he said he would relish representing USA in a bout against the dominant Russian wrestler,
Khabib Nurmagomedov . - Shortly after, Nurmagomedov said on social media that it is a fight that will happen soon.
- Should the
UFC match them together this year, it would freezeConor McGregor out from the lightweight title picture. He has been linked with both competitors in recent months. - Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje are plotting a high-stakes UFC championship unification match, which would freeze out Conor McGregor.
Gaethje shook up the
Gaethje landed 143 strikes from 197 thrown (an accuracy of 72%), hit Ferguson with 13 of his 14 body shots, and hit the target on all 30 of his leg strikes.
Gaethje forced a stoppage in the fifth round, then got on the mic and said he's "happy to represent the United States of America against Dagestan" to take on Nurmagomedov, whom he called "Russia's best."
It was not long before Nurmagomedov responded on social media.
"In this sport, and especially in this weight there will always be hungry lions that will breathe in your back, if you relax, then you will end," he tweeted.
"Some leave and others come, there is nothing to be surprised," Nurmagomedov added. "But I won't fall before the shot. We will still fight."
—khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) May 10, 2020
A title unification removes 2 viable opponents for McGregor
Should the UFC book a unification match between the interim champion at lightweight, Gaethje, and the full champion, Nurmagomedov, later this year, then it removes viable opponents for McGregor to fight.
McGregor rebounded from a fourth-round submission loss to Nurmagomedov in 2018 by annihilating Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds at the start of 2020.
Following the thumping win, the UFC president Dana White told the media at a post-fight press conference that Nurmagomedov was the next fight to make.
That Nurmagomedov was, at the time, scheduled to defend his lightweight title against Ferguson at the original date and venue for UFC 249, April 18, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It meant other names began to be associated with McGregor's, to abide by a timeline the Irishman had set himself to fight three times in 2020.
By mid-March, McGregor's long-time MMA trainer John Kavanagh said he'd like to see his client compete against Gaethje.
Now, should Gaethje and Nurmagomedov collide, McGregor would likely fight neither this year and have to instead move on to someone else.
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