The winner is expected to be next for UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, with the title unification bout expected to happen later this year.
Nurmagomedov will apparently be ready to fall by July, as Nurmagomedov wrote the following in the comments section of the ESPN MMA Instagram page (via Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie):
?I can fight anytime, Ramadan finishes May 23. July I?m gonna be ready. Stop talking about me, this is coronatime, when Khabibtime comes I smash all of them.?
UFC President Dana White once stated that Nurmagomedov versus whomever wins the UFC 249 main event may not happen until 2021, but Nurmagomedov may have some different plans in mind. Nurmagomedov was originally set to compete in the UFC 249 main event against Ferguson, but would be replaced by Gaethje after travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic caused issues for the lightweight champion.