UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov sat down alongside his UFC 254 opponent in Justin Gaethje at the pre-fight presser. ‘The Eagle’ had plenty to share with the fans and media ahead of the mega-event. The aforementioned fight is being held up as one of the biggest title fights of the year.

Chiefly, the stylistic duel between the two lightweights has caused plenty of chatter amongst the MMA community. The general consensus is that Justin Gaethje poses the biggest overall threat to Nurmagomedov due to his well-rounded game. He has an extensive collegiate wrestling background and excellent striking to boot.

Khabib Nurmagomedov breaks down Justin Gaethje

‘The Eagle’ has studied the various tools that Gaethje brings in the fight, and he elaborated on the pace he expects Justin to keep. Khabib believes that Justin is a fast starter and is volatile and dangerous in the first round.

“When he fight, he beginning very fast. Like first round, he’s very dangerous. Very dangerous. I think him and Conor is the two most dangerous guys in the first round. If you talk about second-round, third-round they become like little bit regular fighters.”

Although Conor McGregor is known to fizzle out after the opening rounds, that’s historically not been true about Gaethje. ‘The Highlight’ has shown different facets to his game and has evolved in recent years. He began his UFC tenure by throwing caution to the wind and striking with reckless abandon. However, he has shown a much more measured approach in recent fights, especially in his win over Tony Ferguson.

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The new and improved Justin Gaethje has a much higher chance of taking the fight to the undisputed champion. Not to mention, he could easily catch Nurmagomedov on the feet with his elite-level striking abilities. However, 28 men have tried and 28 men have failed to topple ‘The Eagle’

The fight is already trending to crack pay-per-view records, much in part because of the legacy-defining nature of the scrap. The winner will be able to bolster their profile massively and would enter a rarefied territory amongst the greats.