Gaethje vs a Nurmagomedov, Round 2 — This Time in Opposite Corners

The last time Justin Gaethje shared a cage with a Nurmagomedov, he got choked out. That was 2020, when Khabib submitted him to unify the UFC lightweight title before walking away for good. On Saturday at PFL New York, the two men could be back in the same room — only this time Gaethje's in a corner, not the fight.

'The Highlight,' the freshly minted 28-5 UFC lightweight champion, has confirmed he'll be working the corner for undefeated 13-0 challenger Archie Colgan. And in the other corner? Very likely Khabib himself, cornering his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov, who defends his own unbeaten PFL lightweight belt in the main event. It's a strange kind of rematch.

The Colgan Connection

Colgan isn't just some random training partner. He was a key piece of Gaethje's camp for last month's undisputed title win, and he made clear he wants his mentor in the corner for the biggest night of his career. Colgan said Gaethje helped kickstart his journey and that having him there to help capture a first world title simply feels right.

That title win is worth dwelling on. Gaethje handed Ilia Topuria — now 17-1, still ranked #1 at 155 — the first loss of his career, finishing him by fourth-round TKO. Plenty of people had written Gaethje off before that fight. Colgan, by his own account, never bought the doubt, and he watched his teammate prove it in the most brutal way Gaethje knows how.

Khabib's Corner, Again

Khabib's presence isn't fully official, but it's hard to read it any other way. He's been in New York alongside Usman, and footage from Anatomy of a Fighter has him embedded in camp. He's cornered his cousin before. If he's there Saturday, he'll be staring across the cage at the last man he ever fought inside the Octagon.

The layers here are almost too neat. Gaethje never quite got over that 2020 loss — he's said flatly that nobody was beating Khabib that night. Now he gets to test that theory by proxy, sending a 13-0 prospect at the family's next standard-bearer. Usman Nurmagomedov remains unbeaten and puts the belt on the line. One of these undefeated records ends on Saturday, and the winner's corner might just settle a six-year-old grudge in the process.