Justin Gaethje is about to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout as the main event of UFC 254 on ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi.
Before fight night arrives, the UFC has provided an opportunity to see exactly how Gaethje earned his shot against the current lightweight champion. The ‘Highlight’’s most recent fight, against Tony Ferguson for the interim title, has been posted on YouTube (video provided by UFC/YouTube) for free.
The road to gold for Gaethje was a tough one, as he took on some of the top names in the lightweight division, following his long-awaited arrival in the promotion nearly three years ago. The former World Series of Fighting champion got past Michael Johnson before suffering setbacks to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier, but got right back in the win column against the likes of James Vick, Edson Barboza and Donald Cerrone is his next few outings.
Now in the top five, it seemed certain that a title shot for Gaethje would be right around the corner—and it was. At UFC 249, Gaethje stepped in on a short-notice against the aforementioned Ferguson, who was originally scheduled to take on Nurmagomedov for the fifth time before the recent coronavirus pandemic stopped that from happening.
Despite taking the fight on short-notice, Gaethje put on an awe-worthy performance against the man many believed would be the one to put an end to the ‘Eagle’’s undefeated streak. Gaethje battered Ferguson with hard punches and leg kicks, which led him to a stoppage by way of technical knockout in the fifth round.
Not only did he earn the interim lightweight championship, but this also marked the fourth straight knockout victory for Gaethje, who solidified his status at No. 1 contender and next in line for the champ. He gets a chance to potentially dethrone the champion on Saturday, October 24, 2020.
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