Saturday night, Justin Gaethje scored the UFC’s Interim Lightweight title in a fifth-round knockout of then-No. 1 contender Tony Ferguson in UFC 249’s main event on ESPN+ pay-per-view in Jacksonville.

Gaethje stepped in as a late substitute for division champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who withdrew from the original UFC 249 last month after travel restrictions were placed in Nurmagomedov’s home country of Russia due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing him from making the April 18 date.

As MMA fans are now well aware, this marked the fifth time that a Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson fight had been canceled for any reason without a single punch being thrown.

Now that Gaethje has won the interim championship, the next step, as promised by UFC President Dana White when he announced the rescheduled UFC 249, is a guaranteed shot at Nurmagomedov in a unification fight later this year.

On Tuesday morning, Dana White was interviewed by Chicago’s WMVP-AM, ESPN 1000, during the Kap & Company program, telling host David Kaplan that this unification fight could very well be booked to happen on Fight Island, saying:

“I don’t know if it will be the first one, but it will be on Fight Island, unless the world comes back together faster than I think it’s gonna.”

White reiterated that Fight Island is still under construction at this time and is about a month out from being completed, saying:

“Hopefully it will be done by mid-June, and I could put on a fight that weekend that it’s done or [the] end of June.”

Four days after the original UFC 249 was scheduled to have taken place, the holy month of Ramadan began.

Nurmagomedov, a practicing Muslim, only lightly trains during Ramadan, which runs this year through May 23, and in March, he said in an interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi that he would need appropriate time to hold a training camp for a fight.

But what would such a fight, if and when it comes to pass, look like?

Contender Comparison:

Justin Gaethje would be the taller competitor in this fight if and when it happens, standing at 5-foot-11, an inch taller than Khabib Nurmagomedov’s 5-foot-10 frame.

How they’ll get there:

Gaethje has posted a 4-1 record in his last five fights, including the knockout victory vs. Tony Ferguson last Saturday night in Jacksonville.

In the other corner, Nurmagomedov has yet to lose in his professional career.

Champion Nurmagomedov’s last win occurred during the Sept. 7 headliner of UFC 242 (third-round submission- rear-naked choke) vs. Dustin Poirier on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

The Tale of the Tape:

Tapology shows that both fighters are level in reach (70 inches apiece) heading into this possible fight.

As of yet, this fight has not been officially booked.

When it is, we’ll let you know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNvlEcre5YA

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