Justin Gaethje says folkstyle wrestling key to beating Khabib Nurmagomedov – and he'd use it
No one has been able to figure out the Khabib Nurmagomedov puzzle through 28 fights, but Justin Gaethje strongly believes he’s the one to do it.
Speaking on the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast, Gaethje, who’s wrestled since he was 4 years old, said should he fight UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, he would force him to stand and trade in the middle of the octagon.
“No, it will not be the same,” Gaethje said. “Nothing will happen on the cage. We will fight in the center of the octagon. As much as he’s going to want to fight on the edge of the octagon, we’re going to fight in the center. I’m going to throw massive shots, most of them are going to come right through the middle, and I’m going to take chances, throw knees, and if he takes me down that’s fine.”
A former NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler, Gaethje also explained that most of Nurmagomedov’s opponents are defensive minded and constantly fearing the takedown. While he’s never had a chance to fully display his wrestling in the octagon due to his knockout ability and favored style of fighting, Gaethje explained the type of wrestling he believes it would take to stop Nurmagomedov.
Gaethje detailed folkstyle wrestling, which he believes he possesses and is heavily underutilized.
“The thing about folkstyle wrestling, folkstyle wrestling doesn’t happen anywhere else other than the United States,” Gaethje said. “I only wrestle folkstyle. I very rarely wrestle freestyle. In folkstyle, I think the biggest factor is, you’re allowed to expose your back without giving up points, which means you scramble. So whenever he goes to take me down, I’m going to be flipping and rolling in ways that he’s never felt in his life. That’s folkstyle wrestling, being able to expose your back.
“What he’s done his whole life, these guys could never expose their backs to get out of a takedown because they were giving up points, and that’s the first thing you learn in freestyle is don’t expose your back. So you go straight to your stomach, and you give up a takedown. They also never have to get up. They just lay there for 15 seconds, then they stand them up automatically. In folkstyle wrestling, you get rewarded for getting up and escaping.”
The previously undefeated Gaethje (21-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) finally has found his groove in the UFC. He is coming off three straight first round knockouts over James Vick, Edson Barboza, and most recently Donald Cerrone at UFC on ESPN+ 16.
It’s safe to say he’s ready for his title shot and stylistically believes he’s the man to dethrone the undefeated champ.
“If one man can hold you down, then two can do whatever they want to you,” Gaethje said. “You cannot hold me down. I will get up, and I will scramble in a different way than he’s ever known. I think I have more power than anybody ever has consistently had in the lightweight division.”
Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) has been able to easily out-grapple, control and dominate just about everyone he’s faced. His grappling has proven to be too much and overwhelmed his opponents with pressure.
The key to stopping “The Eagle’s” pressure, according to Gaethje, is just to match it.
“The only way to stop a takedown is to meet force with force,” Gaethje said. “You don’t try to sprawl away. Whenever you do a sprawl, you don’t throw your hips away; you drive your hips into the mat. That’s how you stop a takedown, so I’ve wrestled my whole life and hit so hard. I guarantee he’s going to be in trouble. Dustin (Poirier) had him in trouble, and Dustin was on the fence the whole time.”
