"Give me any tool to poke a vital" - When Justin Gaethje joked about fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov in 'another century' so that he could beat him by poking his organs

Justin Gaethje once joked about fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov in another century.

Gaethje lightheartedly suggested that, as he was clearly the faster striker of the two, he’d poke one of Nurmagomedov’s vital organs in an ancient gladiator-style fight and thereby win.

During an appearance on the Gladiators Unleashed Unfiltered podcast, Justin Gaethje spoke about his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Gaethje lost that bout via technical submission after being choked unconscious in the second round.

In response to the suggestion that the smaller octagon would do Justin Gaethje justice, given that he’s a pressure fighter, Gaethje stated that it won't help him against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Podcast host and MMA veteran Luke Caudillo jested that no cage would help Justin Gaethje against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Gaethje laughed and replied by saying:

“Yeah, right. Any other century, any other…Give me any tools to poke a vital, and I’m there. I was faster from A to B. If he’s gonna be able to grapple me, then yeah, I’m probably f**ked, obviously. They fought with swords, picks back in the day. Like, give me... I’ll poke an organ, I promise.”

Caudillo chimed in and pointed out that Gaethje was “poking” Nurmagomedov’s leg well in their fight. Gaethje agreed and said:

“That’s what I’m telling you. I’ll poke an organ. I just...there’s no organ in his leg… He was fighting, dude. He was fighting for something, dude.”

Justin Gaethje proceeded to highlight that Khabib Nurmagomedov was dealing with the death of his father at the time they fought. Nurmagomedov’s father passed away in July 2020, while the Gaethje-Nurmagomedov matchup took place in October of that year.

Addressing the passing of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje revealed his respect for Khabib. Gaethje indicated that it would have been difficult to beat Nurmagomedov that night as the Dagestani was fighting for his father.

Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in 2020, whereas Justin Gaethje looks to return to the win column

Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport of MMA after his win over Gaethje. Nurmagomedov has been donning many hats, including as a coach, a businessperson, and much more since his retirement.

Meanwhile, Justin Gaethje’s most recent fight was his submission loss against Khabib.

In regards to Gaethje’s next fight, he and Michael Chandler have been engaged in a war of words as of late. While no official comeback date or fight for Gaethje has been announced as of yet, it’s likely that Gaethje could end up fighting 'Iron' in their respective returns to the octagon.

Let’s make it happen then. The fans want it. I’ve been asking for it.

— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) July 24, 2021