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Dana White Says Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje Targeted For September
The UFC is aiming to unify the UFC lightweight titles with Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje in the fall, according to Dana White. White said at the post-UFC on ESPN+ 29 press conference that the unification fight, which was originally aiming for late July, will now target a September date.
“We were gonna send out bout agreements (Tuesday),” White said (per MMA Weekly). “There were a couple of weird things that happened, so it didn’t end up getting done apparently. But we’re talking about doing Gaethje vs. Khabib in September (instead of the summer). I talked to Khabib yesterday and he said September, I’m ready to go in September.”
The news comes after Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap was revealed to have been hospitalized a couple of weeks ago in Dagestan in Russia with pneumonia and flu-like symptoms and is in a coma in critical conditiion. He has been tested for COVID-19 but came up negative. White and Conor McGregor posted public statements on Wednesday expressing sympathies to the family.
Gaethje won the interim lightweight title this past weekend at UFC 249.