Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje – Preview & Matchup Analysis

UFC 254: Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 24, 2020, in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In one of the matchups on the fight card, Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov will take on Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje in the UFC Lightweight Title Bout. You can view the full UFC 254 card.

In this post, we will break down Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje matchup. Let’s take look at the fighter’s ages, their height, records, reach, fight stats and more below ⤵

The 35-year-old, Khabib Nurmagomedov is coming in with a 28-0-0 record. Nurmagomedov will be fighting for the first time since a win via submission against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier in September.

Gaethje, meanwhile, is coming off a KO/TKO win against Tony Ferguson on September 7, 2019 at UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje and holds a 22-2-0 record.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has an orthodox fighting stance with a 70″ reach. The 35-year-old, Justin Gaethje is an orthodox fighter with a 70″ reach. An orthodox fighter stands with their left side forward and jabs with their left hand, the southpaw fighter is the opposite, southpaw stands with their right side forward and jabs with their right hand. In most cases, orthodox fighters are right-handed, if you are left-handed, then you fight southpaw.

Khabib Nurmagomedov:
→ Nurmagomedov’s striking accuracy is 49%.
→ Nurmagomedov lands 4.11 significant strikes per minute.
→ Nurmagomedov’s takedown accuracy is 47%.
→ Nurmagomedov’s takedown average is 5.35 per 15 minutes.
→ Nurmagomedov’s takedown defense is 84%.

Nurmagomedov comes in with 49% striking accuracy, typically landing about 4.11 significant strikes every minute. On the other side, Gaethje fires at 59% accuracy, landing about 7.74 significant strikes per minute. Khabib Nurmagomedov also has a 47% takedown accuracy and on average gets around 5.35 takedowns every 15 minutes, compared to Gaethje’s 0.00 takedowns and 80% takedown accuracy.

Justin Gaethje:
→ Gaethje’s striking accuracy is 59%.
→ Gaethje lands 7.74 significant strikes per minute.
→ Gaethje’s takedown accuracy is 0%.
→ Gaethje’s takedown average is 0.00 per 15 minutes.
→ Gaethje’s takedown defense is 80%.

Justin spent on average 10:11 minutes in the Octagon and Khabib has an average fight time of 13:47 minutes.

This looks like an fun matchup, at least on paper. UFC 254 is live in , who do you think will win, Khabib or Justin? Sound off in the comments.

You can view the scheduled UFC 254 fight card, upcoming UFC schedule 2020, and latest MMA news.