Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager predicts how a potential fight between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler will pan out
Ali Abdelaziz made a bold prediction about a potential showdown between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler in the lightweight division.
The manager of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who also happens to manage Justin Gaethje, suggested that a fight with the UFC newcomer will be "a lot easier than Justin vs. Michael Johnson".
Justin Gaethje had faced Michael Johnson in 2017 at the TUF 25 Finale and emerged victorious with a second-round TKO victory. Ali Abdelaziz alluded to that win in his tweet and possibly meant that this time 'The Highlight' will knock Michael Chandler out even faster.
Ali Abdelaziz says Justin Gaethje is ready to fight Michael Chandler
Earlier, Ali Abdelaziz had spoken to Brett Okamoto about the potential matchup, which the latter shared on Twitter. The founder and president of Dominance MMA told Okamoto that they were open to the idea of a fight between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler.
“We’re open to it. Justin has fought a lot of guys tougher than Michael Chandler. But he needs to stop trying so hard in the media," Ali Abdelaziz had shared with Brett Okamoto.
Justin Gaethje had lost in his last outing to Khabib Nurmagomedov, letting the lightweight title opportunity slipping right through his fingers. The defeat made him lose one spot in the title contention and he is currently ranked at the second position, behind Dustin Poirier. It sets him up perfectly for a potential fight with Michael Chandler, who climbed straight to the fourth rank ahead of Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson, owing to his cracking debut against Dan Hooker.
Justin Gaethje blames Dana White for the lightweight title scene
Despite having some of the best fighters in the division, the lightweight title scene is quite in a mess at the moment. It is not certain whether Khabib Nurmagomedov will return or not, and if he does indeed vacate the 155-pounds belt, which fighters will fight for it is not certain either.
Justin Gaethje straight up blamed Dana White for the situation in a recent interview with MMA Fighting. Dana White had quite transparently hoped for Conor McGregor to win, so that UFC could book a rematch between him and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, that did not pan out. Now he has hinted at a possible title fight between Dustin Poirier, who beat McGregor, and Michael Chandler. But Poirier has refused to do that, saying he would rather fight Charles Oliveira, who is currently ranked No. 3.
"The reason why this is happening with Poirier is because Dana White literally used, he tried to, he did, he f***ed Tony (Ferguson) and Dustin (Poirier)... You wouldn’t be wrong to put Oliveira and Poirier in there. Nobody can argue against that.. . I want Poirier. I’m No. 2. The sh**ty thing is the UFC is much more likely to put Poirier and McGregor in there before they put me and Poirier in there."
Justin Gaethje called Dana White out for pushing Michael Chandler over other fighters who have been in the UFC longer and outranks the former Bellator champion.