Justin Gaethje will have the opportunity to wrap lightweight championship gold around his waist if he defeats Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.
However, Gaethje doesn’t put much stock in interim championship hardware. He recognizes that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the reigning 155-pound king, and defeating Ferguson will only provide him the opportunity to defeat “The Eagle.”
“When they wrap that belt around me, it won’t be the destination,” Gaethje told ESPN. “It will be a map to the top. That’s who I’m looking at. It’ll be nice to have a belt wrapped around, but for me, it won’t mean the same. It won’t mean I’m a world champion in the UFC.
“When I beat Tony, I’m fighting Khabib next. That’s what I’m here for, to be the best in the world. And when I fight him, I want him to try and kill me, because I won’t respect him if he doesn’t.”
Gaethje accepted the fight with Ferguson after Nurmagomedov was stranded in Russia as a result of travel restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The former World Series of Fighting champion was initially slated to face Ferguson on April 18, but Disney and ESPN executives requested that the promotion not go forward with its plan to hold the event on tribal land in California.
Gaethje recently posted photos following a training session that included the likes of coach Trevor Wittman, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush. The Colorado native made it clear that the room was limited to no more than 10 people.
The chance remains that the pandemic could force UFC 249 to be postponed again, but for now, “The Highlight” is preparing as though he has a fight in a little more than two weeks.
“I have to be 100 percent confident,” Gaethje said. “I was 100 percent confident it was going to happen on April 18, because if I’m not, I pull my foot off the gas.”