Khabib names the lightweight fighter who hit him the hardest in his UFC career and it's not Cono

Khabib Nurmagomedov says Justin Gaethje ‘hit like a truck’ and harder than any opponent he ever faced in his UFC career.

‘The Eagle’ bowed out of MMA with a perfect record of 29-0 after defeating Gaethje on Fight Island in October 2020 in dominant fashion.

Khabib had already effectively cleaned out the very best in the lightweight division, having choked out Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in his previous two fights.

Although the world had hoped to see the Russian face Tony Ferguson, he never shied away from a challenge and faced some of the biggest punchers ever seen in the 155lbs division.

Despite facing up to the lethal left of McGregor and Poirier’s furious flurries, the 32-year-old insists it was Gaethje who hit him harder than any opponent he ever faced.

“This guy [Justin Gaethje] hit like a truck, you know,” Nurmagomedov said to Mike Tyson on his podcast back in August.

“Nobody hit me harder than Justin Gaethje. His kick, his punch, his left hook, right hook, right uppercut.

“I make him hit me, you know. When I go to the cage and I was sitting like, ‘Okay, I’m going to go, I’m going to bring him into the deep ocean.

”I’m going to make him tired in stand-up and I’m going to bring him on the ground and finish him.”

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