Justin Gaethje won the interim UFC Lightweight title and wants to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov

Justin Gaethje put on a show at UFC 249 as he defeated Tony Ferguson and set up a clash against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The UFC 249 bout was for the interim Lightweight title. The original clash was between Lightweight champion Khabib and Ferguson. However, Khabib is stuck in Russia due to travel restrictions after the coronavirus pandemic.

Gaethje was a replacement on short notice, but he dominated Ferguson in their championship bout. The American was handed the interim title but he threw it away and wanted to fight Khabib for the ‘real’ title.

Khabib is never one to back down from a real fight, and he tweeted an inspirational message about what it means to be the champion.

В этом спорте и особенно в этом весе всегда будут голодные львы, которые будут тебе дышат в спину, если ты расслабишься то тебе конец. Одни уходят и другие приходят, тут нечему удивляться.
Но я раньше выстрела не упаду. Мы ещё повоюем. pic.twitter.com/kxLWX8E8Ah

— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) May 10, 2020

The translated tweet also suggests that he is ready for a fight against Gaethje. And he also compared his rival to a hungry lion.

Gaethje impresses

All the talk before the fight was about Ferguson picking up the win and becoming the interim champion again.

However, Gaethje nullified Ferguson throughout the clash and even didn’t bring his wrestling abilities to the front.

Gaethje tagged Ferguson several times during the match, and it was complete domination from the third round onwards.

Ferguson’s legs were targetted early on. Then Gaethje worked upwards and hit his rival several times on the head.

It was a miracle that Ferguson did not go down several times too, but Herb Dean did the right thing by calling off the fight in the fifth round.

Gaethje was impressive in the bout but a fight against Khabib is mouthwatering. Both are known for their strong wrestling backgrounds, but the American showed a different side of himself tonight.

It will be interesting to see when the fight is set up. Khabib is undefeated in his MMA career but Gaethje will provide a real test to the Russian.

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