LAS VEGAS – Mateusz Gamrot won his first UFC main event Saturday then received congratulations from former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was at the UFC Apex to corner his cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov, to a victory.
The encounter was a big pat on the back as Gamrot revealed to reporters that Khabib told him, “For sure in the future you meet with Islam in fight.”
Islam, of course, is Islam Makhachev, who soon could be in line for a vacant 155-pound title shot against former champ Charles Oliveira.
After his hard-fought win over Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC on ESPN 38 headliner, Khabib’s words got Gamrot thinking about his path to lightweight gold, which first involves fighting Justin Gaethje.
“I keep finger crossed for Islam,” Gamrot said. “I think Islam beat Charles Oliveira next fight, and I want next fight with Justin and then next fight (after that) with Islam. Simple plan.”
Not that simple, but also not impossible. Gamrot (21-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) entered Saturday No. 12 in the official UFC lightweight rankings. He’s sure to climb after beating No. 11 Tsarukyan for his fourth consecutive victory. Depending on where he lands, a fight with No. 3 Gaethje could make sense.
At least to Gamrot, it makes all the sense in the world.
“I’m a fan of this guy,” he said. “I have a lot of respect. I think this is the most brutal guy in the lightweight division. This guy fight two times the world champion. I want to fight this guy, you know. This guy is old school, I’m new school, I am new generation, and I want to change place in the ranking.”
Gamrot was in position to call out Gaethje after snapping Tsarukyan’s five-fight winning streak in a high-paced five-round unanimous decision. All three judges –Sal D’Amato, Chris Lee and Ron McCarthy – scored it exactly the same, awarding the final three rounds to Gamrot after he’d lost the first two.
Gamrot, a former KSW champion, said he wasn’t nervous heading into his first UFC headliner but admitted it was a different experience.
“I don’t feel in there a lot of nerves, because every single fight for me is like normal fight, but I (was) feeling more tired because more was media talking from English,” said Gamrot, who is Polish. “My English is getting better, but it’s a long way, and I still have to learn. But I feel great, feel great for sure. UFC is (biggest) league championship in the world. It’s biggest sport. Now I’m fighting in the main event. I have five fights in the UFC and four bonuses. This is amazing for me. Change life. Everything change life. I’m so happy that I can fight in the UFC. Now people know who I am. Everyone knows who is Mateusz Gamrot.”