Justin Gaethje Names Khabib Nurmagomedov As His Toughest Fight While Dropping A Surprising Name For A Dream Match

Justin Gaethje calls Khabib his toughest fight and surprises fans with his dream match choice. Find out who made his list

Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov

Justin Gaethje has been one of the most prominent UFC athletes in recent times. Despite having established himself as a dominant fighter, he has one big regret in his career. When Gaethje faced off with ‘The Eagle’ back in UFC 254, the expectations were that the fight would be a banger. However, just a couple of rounds into the bout, Nurmagomedov wove his magic and submitted Gaethje. And he still remembers the loss to this day.

Citing the Dagestani as his toughest fight to date, Gaethje recently named a surprising opponent as his dream opponent. He stated that a fight between him and Makhachev was the one that he had been longing for.

Khabib Nurmagomedov explains why he ripped Justin Gaethje's demand for title shot: 'My opinion is my opinion' - MMA Fighting

Speaking on the topic Gaethje opined, “[Islam] is the champ, and I do believe that is a better matchup for me than Khabib.”

Surely, a possible matchup with Islam Makhachev would have been a great sight for the fight fans. However, a different challenger is threatening to take the lightweight crown of Makhachev at the moment.

Ilia Topuria Issues Stern Warning For Islam Makhachev

Ilia Topuria's Grim Warning to Islam Makhachev Before Max Holloway Fight

UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has been wanting to fight for a second belt for a long time. And the one fight that he is eager to make official is with that of Islam Makhachev. Over the recent period, Topuria has been constantly raising the heat and has urged Makhachev to take the fight. In a recent statement, ’El Matador’ has even accused the lightweight champion of being ‘afraid.’

“He’s afraid. Of course he’s afraid… as usual, it’s an easy fight until they put your name on the contract. We all know, if it were that easy and if I’m small as he says, he would already share the octagon with me,” Topuria said recently.

Thus, it is now evident that Islam Makhachev is garnering a lot of attention at the moment. Having established himself as the lightweight king, it remains to be seen what fight gets assigned to him next.