Watch: When Justin Gaethje revealed what he saw in Khabib Nurmagomedov's eyes during their face-off
Ahead of their highly anticipated UFC lightweight title unification fight at UFC 254, Justin Gaethje was hailed by many as the toughest stylistic matchup for MMA megastar Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Justin Gaethje’s well-rounded MMA skill-set and his vaunted KO power were believed to pose a legitimate threat to ‘The Eagle’ and his reign of dominance in the UFC lightweight division. Additionally, Khabib Nurmagomedov was dealing with the loss of his father and coach, the widely revered Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who passed away in July 2020.
Then-UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face then-interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje to unify the titles at UFC 254 in October 2020. The winner of the fight would earn the honor of walking out of UFC 254 as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
Needless to say, all eyes were on the fighter face-offs in the buildup to this monumental clash between two of the lightweight division’s top fighters at the time. The fighter face-offs were intense, as many expected them to be. Both fighters later made their way off the stage and went their separate ways.
Justin Gaethje ran into members of the media after his face-off with Khabib Nurmagomedov and was asked a few questions regarding it. In response to being asked what he told Nurmagomedov during their face-off, Gaethje simply stated:
“'What’s up?’ Yeah. Nothing much. We didn’t say anything. He said, yeah, nothing. We only have to look at each other’s eyes to know. It’s game time.
“I see a man that’s ready to fight”, Gaethje noted when asked about what he saw in Nurmagomedov’s eyes. ‘The Highlight’ added, “Guarantee he sees the same.” (*Video courtesy: The Face of the Fight Game YouTube channel; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
You can watch the video below:
The UFC 254 fight between Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov ended in a second-round submission victory for Nurmagomedov.
Justin Gaethje returns at UFC 268, while Khabib Nurmagomedov moves forward as a retired fighter
Justin Gaethje is reportedly set to return to the octagon at UFC 268 on November 6th, 2021, in a lightweight bout against Michael Chandler.
Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport of MMA after beating Gaethje. Nurmagomedov is still incredibly busy, however, with multiple business ventures as well as a part-time coaching role at AKA wherein he helps his training partners prepare for their fights.