UFC president Dana White announced some pretty big news today. It was announced and confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) with defend his title against interim champion, Justin Gaethje (22-2), on October 24th.
White confirmed the news to CNN. There have been a lot of questions about the future for Khabib after his father passed away. Many wondered if he would even fight again. But the fight is on.
“It’s going to happen, I can tell you right here right now,†White said. “That fight’s going to happen. Khabib versus Gaethje on October 24.â€
Two more UFC fights for Khabib
Recently, it was announced by his manager that Khabib only has a couple of fights left in his UFC career. The first being his title defense against Gaethje.
Nurmagomedov is one of the sports biggest stars. He’s 28-0 and he’s one of the highest paid fighters in the promotion. However, he’s always talked about walking away early from the sport.
Dana White was asked by ESPN what he’d want to do if Nurmagomedov were to only fight two times. He said he would for sure fight Gaethje, but there was an interesting option for his retirement fight.
"He's been great to the company, he's been great for the sport… I would do anything Khabib wanted to do."@danawhite says he would consider @TeamKhabib's wishes for his final fight, including a potential bout with @GeorgesStPierre. (via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/pqre0cWiqS
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 28, 2020
Justin Gaethje presents the biggest challenge to Khabib from a stylistic standpoint. However, if Khabib can get passed Gaethje, fight fans might get a fight they’ve dreamed about.
Many have wanted to see Georges St. Pierre drop down to 155 to challenge Khabib for the UFC title. White has always dismissed that because GSP would only want to fight once. But, if Khabib is also going to be walking away, the fight could happen.
Exciting times for the UFC‘s lightweight division. Khabib – Gaethje is a matchup that’s so interesting and exciting to think about because there are so many unknowns. Khabib hasn’t fought anyone with as good of defensive wrestling as Gaethje. Should be a fun fight with big implications that will follow.