Justin Gaethje scored a big win over Edson Barboza at UFC on ESPN 3, knocking his opponent out cold with an amazing strike. His next opponent is yet to be determined, but Gaethje has an idea about who he feels is in most danger from him at the moment. UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov may not be back to the UFC yet, but Gaethje feels that he poses a legitimate threat to the Undefeated Champion.
While Justin Gaethje has talked about how he is a threat to Khabib Nurmagomedov, he does not want to jump into a title fight. He wants to work his way through the higher ranked fighters to get there.
It doesn’t matter to me (who I fight next). They’re going to pay me a lot of money, that’s what I’m here for. – h/t MMAjunkie
However, Gaethje also believes that his wrestling ability would also help him in a fight against Khabib.
“I am a Division 1 wrestler. I was a Division 1 All-American, I placed seventh in 2010 and my ability to scramble and avoid takedowns is something he’s never faced. And the power. He’s faced the power, but never with the ability to stop takedowns and scramble. The combination of the two.”
Before that, Gaethje has quite a few fights ahead of him, with Khabib presumably facing the winner of the fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.