Justin Gaethje vows to create a 'zone of death' to beat champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in October's huge UFC title bout

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Justin Gaethje insists he already has a plan in place for his highly-anticipated UFC fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, which includes creating a 'zone of death' in the octagon. 

The two lightweight stars lock horns at UFC 254 on October 24, with undefeated Khabib the current lightweight title holder. 

It is a fight that MMA fans are looking forward to immensely and Gaethje, nicknamed The Highlight, has already thrown down the gauntlet and divulged an aspect of his game-plan on fight night.

Justin Gaethje most recently defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 behind closed doors in May 

UFC lightweight title holder Khabib Nurmagomedov has not fought since September 2019

'There's going to be a zone in front of me, it's not very big,' the 31-year-old told MMA podcast Believe You Me. 

'It's gonna be a zone of death, and I have to represent death every time he enters this zone.

'That's what I'm best at, creating carnage. Creating car crashes.'

Gaethje most recently beat Tony Ferguson in May to win the interim title via a fifth round TKO victory. 

He is on a four-fight win streak, while Khabib has not fought since September 2019, and was rumoured to be set on retiring following the tragic death of his father two months ago. 

But the October fight has been made and fellow UFC star Daniel Cormier has backed the Russian to use his father's death as inspiration come fight night against Gaethje.  

Ferguson won a fifth-round TKO against Ferguson in his most recent fight three months ago

Khabib is one of the biggest names in UFC and is yet to lose a fight in his professional career

'His ability to train and prepare for this and continue to work toward the goal that him and his father had together will allow him to maybe come to terms with everything that's happening around him,' said Cormier. 

'Sometimes you need distractions and you need motivations in different forms. I think Khabib will use [his father's death] as motivation. He's a professional.

'He's a pro's pro and he's going to prepare himself to the best of his ability.'