Justin Gaethje doesn’t see Islam Makhachev as the unconquerable force that Khabib Nurmagomedov was. Gaethje was submitted by undefeated former UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov in their title fight in October 2020. As he heads into his rematch with Dustin Poirier for the “BMF” title in Saturday’s UFC 291 headliner at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Gaethje hopes it earns him a shot at lightweight champ Makhachev. Like Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has run through most opposition until he was taken to the brink by featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. He also was knocked out in his second UFC fight by Adriano Martins, but hasn’t lost since. “If we’re going off of what we know, then it’s going to be Volkanovski because he already fought him and it was a really close fight,” Gaethje told Shakiel Mahjouri on Makhachev’s toughest test.
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