Justin Gaethje lays down plan for avenging heartbreaking loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov
Justin Gaethje has outlined a plan which he believes could help him avenge his defeat against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Back in October 2020, then-interim UFC lightweight champion Gaethje faced then-UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout at UFC 254. The matchup witnessed 'The Eagle' successfully unify the lightweight titles by defeating Gaethje via second-round submission.
Russia's Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from MMA after their fight. Brazil's Charles Oliveira subsequently won the vacant UFC lightweight title.
Following Oliveira's title reign, Nurmagomedov's childhood friend, protege and fellow Russian Islam Makhachev, captured the lightweight title. Makhachev holds the title to this day.
Meanwhile, it's believed that Nurmagomedov's unlikely to ever return to professional MMA competition.
Khabib Nurmagomedov put Justin Gaethje to sleep with a triangle choke 🤯 #UFC254 pic.twitter.com/E2f3jCmt6M
Justin Gaethje has now addressed his upcoming rematch against Dustin Poirier. The fight will take place at UFC 291 on July 29, 2023, with the vacant BMF title at stake. Their first fight saw Poirier defeat Gaethje via fourth-round TKO, which was the second defeat of Gaethje's MMA career.
He also discussed a possible showdown against Islam Makhachev.
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Gaethje was asked whether he'd like to fight Makhachev for the title. Responding to the same, he explained how defeating Makhachev could help him avenge his heartbreaking loss against Nurmagomedov. 'The Highlight' stated:
"Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this will be two opportunities to kind of get my losses back. Khabib beat me. Islam is kind of his prodigy [sic]. So, I can kind of get that fight back a little bit. You know he [Makhachev] beat Oliveira. So, I can certainly get a two-for-one deal on that one.
"And this chance [against Dustin Poirier] I got right now is to get my first loss or second loss back. Alvarez is gone; not gonna get that one back. But Poirier has beat him [Alvarez]. So, you know, I don't wanna play mental gymnastics. All that matters is July 29th."
Watch Gaethje discuss the topic at 1:35 in the video below:
Justin Gaethje has four defeats on his professional MMA record. The first of those was to former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and the second was to former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. 'The Highlight's' third loss came against Khabib Nurmagomedov and the fourth was against Charles Oliveira.
Justin Gaethje eyes potential UFC title shot heading into UFC 291
Islam Makhachev won the UFC lightweight title by beating Charles Oliveira via second-round submission in October 2022. Reigning UFC lightweight champion Makhachev is scheduled to defend his title in a rematch against Oliveira at UFC 294 on October 21, 2023.
Justin Gaethje, for his part, has his sights set on a dream matchup against Makhachev for UFC gold.
Dustin Poirier will face Justin Gaethje for the vacant BMF title on July 29 at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, UFC announced Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/wuwPS9iavR
Gaethje has consistently maintained that defeating Dustin Poirier in their highly-anticipated rematch at UFC 291 on July 29 ought to bag him a UFC lightweight title shot. Many feel the winner of the Gaethje-Poirer rematch could potentially face the Makhachev-Oliveira winner for the lightweight title possibly in early 2024.