Justin Gaethje and Michael Bisping break down Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson

By Fernando Quiles - November 27, 2019

Justin Gaethje and Michael Bisping have weighed in on the likely matchup between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

UFC president Dana White recently confirmed to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto a lightweight title bout between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson is being targeted for April 18. This would be “The Eagle’s” third title defense and Ferguson’s first shot at the undisputed gold. Ferguson is a former interim champion.

Gaethje was a guest on the latest edition of Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast. “The Highlight” and “The Count” discussed how Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson could go down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C04eOV8odG8

“I do think Khabib will win but I do think Tony is gonna bring some, you know I don’t know if he’s gonna lay on his back and throw elbows,” Gaethje said. “I don’t know what the hell’s gonna happen there.”

Bisping expressed his belief that Khabib Nurmagomedov could run into some issues with Tony Ferguson.

“Yeah, do you know what that fight, I mean Ferguson just has such a unique style technically as well and obviously he’s got the submission threat on the ground,” Bisping responded. “I think Ferguson might give him some problems.”

Gaethje agreed and said that while Tony Ferguson absorbs damage in his fights, he doesn’t think that will be the case against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“Especially because of the way that Khabib fights and the way that Khabib wins,” Gaethje continued. “It’s crazy how much and how hard Tony gets hit, how often he gets hit. But I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem for him in this fight because Khabib’s not gonna be looking to exploit that option. He’s gonna do what he does. I don’t know I’m really interested to see if Tony, his jiu-jitsu for one plays a factor, and for two just his tenaciousness being up on him and still wanting to fight.”

Do you think Tony Ferguson can cause Khabib Nurmagomedov some problems?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 11/27/2019.