Damir Ismagulov eyes future clash with former UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje: “I’ll play with him like a little kitten”

Damir Ismagulov is interested in the idea of fighting fellow lightweight Justin Gaethje at some point in the future.

Right now, the UFC’s lightweight division is still one of the most stacked in all of mixed martial arts. Islam Makhachev is the champion, but there are still many contenders out there – as well as a few big featherweights threatening to move up.

One prospect who has his eye on the prize is Damir Ismagulov. He’ll return to action this weekend to take on Grant Dawson, just over six months after his loss to Arman Tsarukyan.

RELATED: GRANT DAWSON REVEALS HE AND DAMIR ISMAGULOV HAVE SPARRED AND ROLLED WITH ONE ANOTHER IN THE PAST: “BOTH OF US KNOW WHAT THE OTHER PERSON IS TRYING TO DO”

For a while now, many have pinpointed Ismagulov as one for the future. It’s obviously hard to stand out at 155 pounds but if he can put on a show on Saturday, plenty more fans will begin to take notice.

When asked about who he wanted to fight in the future, he didn’t hesitate.

"I'll play with him like a little kitten": Damir Ismagulov sees Justin Gaethje as an "easy" target 🐱

Full video: https://t.co/M0dTjPaOKn pic.twitter.com/lPLTbL40Hs

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 28, 2023

“Yeah, I’d like to fight Justin Gaethje.”

Ismagulov calls his shot

“Gaethje is considered to be one of the best strikers in lightweight division. He thinks he’s one of the best. But if I get to fight against him, I’ll play with him like a little kitten. I’ll show him what a Kazakh school of boxing is like. It’s the easy fight for me.”

Following his win over Rafael Fiziev, Justin Gaethje has earned himself a BMF title fight against Dustin Poirier later this summer. Regardless of whether or not he goes through that, you’d have to imagine Ismagulov will have to do something special in order to earn a meeting with ‘The Highlight’.

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