Beating Khabib Nurmagomedov? Justin Gaethje Explains How He Would Do It

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje believes he could "absolutely" defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov and inflict a first-ever loss on the Russian's perfect 26-0 record.

Nurmagomedov defeated Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision at UFC 223 on Saturday to become the new undisputed lightweight champion as Conor McGregor was stripped of the belt due to his inactivity since winning the title in November 2016.

With "The Eagle" claiming the UFC finally have an undisputed champion who will defend his belt unlike McGregor, Gaethje (18-1) thinks his path to the title is clearer now, even if Nurmagomedov was somewhat hypocritical by calling out Georges St-Pierre, the former welterweight and middleweight champion.

But, Gaethje is not looking past his next opponent as he faces Dustin Poirier at UFC Glendale this Saturday in what is almost guaranteed to be a Fight of the Year candidate with both fighters always going for the finish with 11 knockouts in their combined last 13 wins.

"There is a more clear path," Gaethje said, as per MMA Fighting. "Even though Khabib says he wants to go fight GSP, which is counterproductive to everything he talked s**t to Conor about, or talked s**t on Conor about."

"But other than that, yeah, it doesn’t matter. Tony [Ferguson], the winner of [Kevin Lee] and [Edson] Barboza [could be next in line for me], but it doesn’t matter — I’ve got to get past Poirier, who’s a very dangerous opponent, and I’d be a fool to look past him."

Should he get a title shot down the line against Nurmagomedov, Gaethje feels he has the tools to stop the 29-year-old. "The Highlight" is widely known for his entertaining battles as he fights with reckless disregard.

However, with his underutilized wrestling credentials, he believes he can stop Nurmagomedov's dangerous takedowns and expose holes in the game of who he considers the No. 1 lightweight in the world.

"26-0, he’s No. 1 in the world on paper and he’s proven it over and over,” Gaethje added. "I absolutely think I could beat him. Kick his legs off. He holds his chin up high and I’m an All-American wrestler, Division I, so I do think I could stop his takedowns."

Gaethje also commented on the McGregor fiasco that occurred last week. The Irishman infamously hurled a dolly at a bus with Nurmagomedov inside last Thursday, injuring two fighters in the process.

He later turned himself in to police before being released from custody on a $50,000 bail. The UFC are yet to discipline McGregor for his actions, but Gaethje thinks he will get his fair share of punishment from the lawsuits potentially coming his way.

"There’s nothing really you can make of that," Gaethje explained. "It’s crazy circumstances that we hope will never happen again, but you put a bunch of fighters in an arena and someone might fight each other."

"Conor’s going to get punished by paying millions of dollars to people, so that’s plenty of punishment. And I don’t want him to go anywhere, because like I said, I’m going to fight and claw my way to the championship. So either he’s there or Khabib’s there, it doesn’t matter."