The UFC lightweight interim champion, Justin Gaethje takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout on October 24th, 2020. This lightweight showdown will the main event of the massive UFC 254 card on Fight Island.
The odds will be against Justin Gaethje who will face the unbeaten champion. 28 opponents have tried to overcome Khabib Nurmagomedov, but nobody has even won a round against him apart from Conor McGregor. What makes Justin Gaethje stand out from the rest?
Apart from his wrestling and lethal striking, it might be the mental warfare of Justin Gaethje that will boost his performance at UFC 254. Justin Gaethje has a unique attitude towards his next fight where he thinks that Khabib will dominate him in the octagon. And that’s what keeps him motivated to sharpen his skills during the training camp. Gaethje explained this attitude in a recent interview with BT Sport:
“I am being realistic. There is a chance that he is gonna whoop my ass. So I have been telling myself that he is gonna whoop my ass for the last 12 weeks. Getting up from bed motivated to not let that happen. Just by doing that I will never allow false confidence in the atmosphere. When you tell yourself you are the best and you are unbeatable, that’s not true. nobody is unbeatable. I am not gonna fill myself with false confidence. That’s not gonna help me at all.”
Justin Gaethje is unphased with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s confidence
Though Justin Gaethje is one of the best lightweights to ever do it and he is a big threat to Khabib’s throne he is aware of the challenge ahead of him. When asked about Khabib’s supreme confidence ahead of the fight, Gaethje seemed unphased as he stated:
“I know he is ultimately confident in what it does. He has done it 28 times. I expect him to believe that. I have been telling that to myself that’s going to happen. And that’s what drives me every single day. “
Gaethje is not an easy matchup for Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, the outcome of the fight will hugely depend on how good of an MMA grappler Gaethje is. He needs to stop the takedowns from Khabib until the fight lasts. He needs to scramble his way out of positions if he gets taken down. 28 previous opponents of Khabib were not able to do so. Whether Gaethje will make history at UFC 254 is something that has kept the fans on the edge of their seats.