Justin Gaethje is glad to play spoiler for Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dana White, Ali Abdelaziz and anyone else hoping to benefit at his expense.
UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje spoke with Morning Kombat's Brian Campbell and Luke Thomas ahead of Gaethje's headlining title fight against Nurmagomedov at UFC 254. Gaethje and Nurmagomedov both fall under the umbrella of Abdelaziz's Dominance MMA management firm. Dominance MMA is generally a tight-knit group with family-like ties between Abdelaziz and his clients. When it comes time to fight, however, Gaethje only has his own best interests in mind.
"I'm here to ruin Ali's day. I'm here to ruin Dana White's day. I'm here to ruin Daniel Cormier's day. I'm here to ruin Javier Mendez's day. I'm here to ruin Khabib Nurmagomedov's day. Fuck all those guys," Gaethje said emphatically. "I don't know what their plan is [for Nurmagomedov] but they said they have a plan ahead. I'm going to fuck it up. They're going to change my nickname from 'The Highlight' to '2020'."
UFC 254 takes place on Saturday, October 24 from Fight Island on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The pay-per-view card is headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje for the UFC lightweight championship. Keep up with Fightful for all your fight night coverage.
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates and predictions.