UFC News - Justin Gaethje aiming for title unification bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was recently forced to shut down due to the massive COVID-19 outbreak in the USA and around the world, as all UFC events had been suspended until further notice.

This also meant that UFC 249, which was initially scheduled for April 18th, was forced to be called off. However, Dana White has confirmed that his promotion will make their return on the 9th of May with the rescheduled pay-per-view.

The PPV is likely to feature a Lightweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje for the interim division title as the main event but as far Gaethje is concerned, 'The Highlight' is currently aiming at the bigger picture.

Justin Gaethje wants to win unified UFC Lightweight Championship

In a recent interview with ESPN, Justin Gaethje claimed that while he is indeed looking forward to winning the interim UFC Lightweight Championship by beating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, his focus remains on the reigning division champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

'The Highlight' has certainly been impressive in his past Octagon outings and eventually wants to get his hands on the division kingpin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, once the Russian gets back to the US and is ready to defend his title once again.

“When they wrap that belt around me, it won’t be the destination. It will be a map to the top. That’s who I’m looking at. It’ll be nice to have a belt wrapped around, but for me, it won’t mean the same. It won’t mean I’m a world champion in the UFC."- Gaethje told ESPN.

When is UFC 249 rescheduled for?

UFC 249 will be taking place on the 9th of May and is likely to feature an explosive main event between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gathje for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship, while Khabib Nurmagomedov tries to make his way back into the USA from his native Russia.