Justin Gaethje has a plan in place to beat Khabib at UFC 254

Justin Gaethje reveals his game plan before going in to fight against the undisputed, undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

After a lot of tussle, and uncertainties, the much awaited matchup between Justin Gaethje and Khabib has been made. The two fighters are set to go for battle at UFC 254. Khabib has been through some rough times recently, after losing his father and coach Abdulmanaap Nurmagomedov.

Knowing how close Khabib was to his father, it was uncertain if he would ever be able to fight again. His close friend DC was doubtful of his comeback, but against all odds Khabib agreed to comeback to fulfil his father’s dream, and defend his belt. Justin Gaethje who was underrated until very recently, showed his true potential in his fight against the boogeyman Tony Ferguson. He displayed some impeccable striking skills in his 25-minute pure violence filled fight.

This is a very crucial matchup for Gaethje, and will determine whether he is ready to take the GOAT status. To beat a guy who has never been defeated, and has only lost one round in his entire pro MMA career is hard to imagine. Justin Gaethje is fully aware of the threat that Khabib is, and is in no means taking this lightly. He knows what he is up against, and he seems ready for it. In a recent interview with Believe you me, he said the following:

“There’s going to be a zone in front of me, it’s not very big. It’s gonna be a zone of death, and I have to represent death every time he enters this zone. That’s what I’m best at, creating carnage. Creating car crashes.”

In his appearance at the Joe Rogan podcast too, he admitted that Khabib will be his toughest matchup yet, and his only focus will be to keep himself off the fence. Not many people realize that Justin is a pro-level wrestler, and has been wrestling at high levels since he was very young. It will be interesting to see how well he is able to use this against someone who is probably the greatest wrestler in the world for the weight class.

Why didn’t Justin go for Conor?

Conor McGregor is a money-making machine for the UFC, and has the ability to sell any fights. His fight against Khabib was the most profitable fight for the UFC. After beating Tony, everyone believed Conor is next for Justin, given the matching style of both the fighters.

Gaethje would have made more money than ever fighting Conor, win or lose. But he decided to gamble on himself, and go for Khabib. If he is able to win this fight, and then defend his belt against Conor, it will be hard to deny that he is the greatest of all times