It has been over three years since we last saw Khabib Nurmagomedov fight inside the Octagon. He fought the reigning BMF champion Justin Gaethje in his retirement fight at UFC 254. He recently opened up about a conversation he had with Gaethje during the fight, dropping a quote that boxing icon Muhammad Ali made famous.
‘The Eagle’ ran through all of his opponents during his entire MMA career. He showcased the same level of performance in his last fight against Justin Gaethje in his final MMA fight. And in a recent interview, the 29-0 legend shared some words of praise for his final MMA opponent.
Khabib Nurmagomedov claims that Justin Gaethje hits hard
During a recent interview with Patrick Bet-David, the UFC Hall of Famer revealed that Justin Gaethje was the most hard-hitting fighter he had ever fought. Moreover, he stated that ‘The Highlight’ hits like a truck. Nurmagomedov said, “I think it was Justin Gaethje. He hit like truck.” The power in Gaethje’s strikes has been evident in some of his fights, most notably in his UFC 286 fight against Rafael Fiziev.
Furthermore, Nurmagomedov also mentioned the combination that ‘The Highlight’ used against him that he thought was Gaethje’s best attack. “I remember it was right uppercut and left hook. Like, it was his best, best shot in the fight,” said the former champion. However, that wasn’t it. He followed it up with a smack talk.
‘The Eagle’ copied Muhammad Ali’s famous quote
Khabib Nurmagomedov mentioned that he told Justin Gaethje something that was reminiscent of what Muhammad Ali told George Foreman when they fought in 1974. ‘The Eagle said, “I told him, ‘Brother, this is everything what you have?’ I was talking with him. Like, it was conversation inside the cage.”
Muhammad Ali, during his fight against the then 25-year-old Foreman, said, “That all you got, George?” This was clearly what inspired Khabib Nurmagomedov for his trash talk against Justin Gaethje. He mentioned during the interview that the mental game is as important as the physical game during any fight. “This is mental game. This is not only about your skills. You have to be 100 percent with your mental and your skills,” Nurmagomedov stated.
Muhammad Ali was arguably the pioneer of trash-talking in combat sports. The way he’d toy with his opponents mentally not only got the fans engaged but also affected his opponent’s mentality going into the fight. It isn’t unusual to see that people take pages out of ‘The Greatest’s book and use it for their fights.