Gaethje: Beating Ferguson Doesn’t Make Me UFC Champ

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

After a small hiccup that forced Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president, Dana White, to scratch the planned UFC 249 event originally scheduled for April 18, the event will now go down on May 9.

The pay-per-view (PPV) card is set to feature a headlining title fight that will see Tony Ferguson face off against Justin Gaethje for the interim Lightweight strap. For Gaethje, while winning the interim strap is a nice accomplishment, he’s looking at the bigger picture: a title unification bout against division king, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“When they wrap that belt around me, it won’t be the destination,” Justin told ESPN. “It will be a map to the top. That’s who I’m looking at. It’ll be nice to have a belt wrapped around, but for me, it won’t mean the same. It won’t mean I’m a world champion in the UFC,” he added.

Khabib and Gaethje are both represented by the same manager, Ali Abdelaziz, but that won’t prevent either man from throwing bombs at one another, which is exactly what “Highlight” wants from “The Eagle.”

“When I beat Tony, I’m fighting Khabib next. That’s what I’m here for, to be the best in the world. And when I fight him, I want him to try and kill me, because I won’t respect him if he doesn’t.”

Winner of three in a row — all via first round knockout — Gaethje has long been one of the most dangerous outs in the game. Ferguson, meanwhile, hasn’t tasted defeat in eight years, winning 12 in a row, 18 of 19 overall. Their impressive resumes are a sure-fire recipe for an entertaining title fight for the ages, which is likely to go down in Florida. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, of course.

As for the title unification bout, that likely won’t happen until September, which is when Nurmagomedov plans on returning after taking time off for Ramadan.