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Coach: Khabib will have a fight on his hands if he can’t take Gaethje down at UFC 254

American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) head Javier Mendez knows Khabib Nurmagomedov has a tough fight on his hands at UFC 254, but is Justin Gaethje the toughest opponent of ‘The Eagle’s’ career?

Mendez believes that title firmly belongs to Conor McGregor but the former kickboxing world champion understands that Nurmagomedov will have to dig deep if he can’t take Gaethje down early on and utilize his wrestling.

“Right now I rank him second, but he could very well be number one, easily,” Mendez said of Gaethje in a recent interview with Submission Radio. “I rank him second behind Conor but I could be wrong on that.