Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje will take place in September, Dana White says

UFC president Dana White says the lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje will take place in September.

Nurmagomedov was set to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in April but the card was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. After the dust settled and Nurmagomedov was stuck in Russa, the UFC was able to re-book the UFC card with Ferguson against Gaethje for the interim lightweight title.

In an upset, Gaethje was able to dominate Ferguson for nearly 25 full minutes before getting a TKO win with less than two minutes left in the fifth and final round. The win gave Gaethje the interim belt and he is now in line to fight Nurmagomedov in an attempt to unify the belts.

The question now is when will the Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje fight take place. Some have suggested the fight could take place on Fight Island in July, but according to White, the fight will likely happen in the fall instead. Speaking to Tim and Sid, White said that the UFC is targeting Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje for a September event.

“Obviously, Gaethje and Khabib is going to happen. It looks like that’s going to happen in September,” White said.

The UFC bossman was also asked what’s next for superstar Conor McGregor, who has been vocal in his desire to fight either Nurmagomedov or Gaethje next. White said that the UFC’s plan right now is to have McGregor fight sometime this summer against another top contender, and if he wins that fight he will get to fight the winner of the Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje title fight.

“Conor will probably fight this summer. Then you’ll have those guys fight in September. And then that will line up a fight for the winner,” White said.

Who wins the UFC lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/13/2020.