Justin Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson by fifth round TKO in the main event of UFC 249 to win the then vacant UFC Interim Lightweight Title, clearing the way for a title unification bout against UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
UFC President Dana White now says that bout between Nurmagomedov and Gaethje could go down this September.
“We were gonna send out bout agreements yesterday,” White said after UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira (via Farah Hannoun & John Morgan of MMA Junkie). “There were a couple of weird things that happened yesterday, so we didn’t end up getting it done apparently, but we’re talking about doing Gaethje vs. Khabib in September. Because I talked to Khabib yesterday, and he said September. I’m ready to go in September.”
A potential holdup to the fight going down is the health of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who is the father and coach for Nurmagomedov. Abdulmanap had reportedly just awoken from a medically induced coma, as he is dealing with complications from pneumonia.
Nurmagomedov was originally going to be the one to face Ferguson at UFC 249, but coronavirus travel restrictions would lead to Gaethje getting the short notice opportunity.
If the bout does go down as planned, it would be the second straight title unification bout for the UFC Lightweight Champion.
