Justin Gaethje thinks he really knows who has been tweeting at him from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Twitter account, and it is not the person many may suspect.
Last week, a small digital skirmish broke out between the second-ranked UFC lightweight and the retired former division king, when ESPN MMA tweeted in regards to Gaethje (23-3) saying he deserves a title opportunity next after his memorable win at UFC 268. The notion rubbed the Russian the wrong way since he believes his long-time friend and pupil Islam Makhachev (21-1) is the man that should be next in line for a championship chance.
Fourth-ranked Makhachev has not tasted defeat in six years and is currently on a nine-fight win streak inside the Octagon. A streak that was recently capped off with a first-round submission win over Dan Hooker (21-11) at UFC 267.
Justin Gaethje thinks he knows the real person behind the recent Khabib Nurmagomedov Twitter trash talk
“In last 8 fights you got finished 3 times Justin. You had an opportunity to become champion, but you fell asleep. Islam is on the 9 win streak, 3 fight in 2021 and all finishes. Just shut up admit that Islam deserves the title shot, not you,” Nurmagomedov allegedly wrote.
There has been some doubt about if “The Eagle” truly was the man behind that strong response. Especially, since it is widely accepted in industry circles that Dominance MMA management boss Ali Abdelaziz often takes to his client’s accounts and sends out messages on their behalf. Abdelaziz represents but Gaethje and Nurmagomedov, and that may be a key factor in why “The Highlight” does not think he was behind that tweet, as many have assumed.
“I still don’t believe it was him writing those messages. It was way too proper of English,” Gaethje said on the UFC Unfiltered podcast [h/t Bloodyelbow]. “And then people wanna say it’s Ali Abdelaziz. He has much less chance of writing a proper sentence in this form than even Khabib does. It wasn’t either one of them. … If I had to guess, I would say it was Rizvan Magomedov, the dude that helps Ali with the Russian dudes.”
Magomedov is listed on the management agency’s website as the “President of Dominance MMA Russia.”
Gaethje doesn’t think Islam Makhachev has earned a title fight yet, and has a matchmaking suggestion for him to do so
Although Gaethje did not fire back at the aforementioned tweet, he did have a response on the podcast. From his point of view as a higher-ranked competitor, and former interim champion, he believes Makhachev still has not done enough to garner a title fight just yet. And if he truly wanted to lock up the opportunity in 2022, he should face the fighter ranked right in front of him, Beneil Dariush (21-4-1).
“I really shouldn’t even reply, because it doesn’t f*ckng matter what they think. At the end of the day, that dude Makhachev fought number 14, went to number five, and fought a late replacement, [in] Dan Hooker. It wasn’t Dan Hooker on a full camp. It does not count as much, it’s two top 15 guys, none in the top five, and only one in the top tenm” said Gaethje.
“That’s not how this sh*t works. Do your f*ckng job, fight these guys. Beneil Dariush is right here. And I like the dude, he’s my friend, that’s why, it’s like, you’re not just gonna jump over this man and expect to get a title shot when the number three guy is Beneil Dariush. Handle that.”
Gaethje, Makhachev, and even Dariush are all vying for an eventual chance to face the winner of the UFC 269 lightweight title main event between champion Charles Oliveira (31-8) and top contender Dustin Poirier (28-6). The event takes place on Dec. 11 in Las Vegas, Nev.
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