Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov to battle it out as coaches at PFL New York

Past and present UFC champions Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov will indulge in mental chess as opposite cornermen at PFL New York.

Current UFC lightweight king Gaethje is set to be by Archie Colgan’s side for his main event title clash with Khabib‘s cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov, live on talkSPORT on Friday.

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Khabib retired after defeating Gaethje at UFC 254 in 2020.

He has since relished mentoring some of the best fighters in the world, including PFL lightweight champion Nurmagomedov.

The 37-year-old UFC legend is now hoping Nurmagomedov can extend his undefeated record to 22-0 against Gaethje’s teammate Colgan at the top of a well-shaped PFL card on Long Island.

Rivalry renewed

Since his lightweight title loss to Khabib, Gaethje has gone on to cement his name as one of the UFC’s biggest stars.

Last time out, the American battered Ilia Topuria on the South Lawn of the White House to become an undisputed UFC champion for the first time in his career.

And Gaethje is set to return to the cage, albeit outside of it, at UBS Arena, with Colgan, too, looking to remain unbeaten in his 14th MMA fight.

Gaethje ran into former foe Khabib at the fighters’ hotel in New York this week ahead of PFL New York, which also features the return of British star Dakota Ditcheva.

It was all respect between both men’s teams during a brief interaction.

“See you, Justin,” Khabib said before the former responded, “Yes, sir.”

There’s no surprise Khabib kept things civil with Gaethje, as he believes Colgan possesses the ‘toughest fight’ of Nurmagomedov’s career so far.

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Khabib: Colgan is toughest test yet

“[Colgan’s] the real deal,” Khabib told Will Harris of Anatomy of a Fighter.

“He knows how to wrestle. He’s tough, never lost. He’s the toughest challenge for Usman, I think.

“Of course, Usman is in incredible shape — physically, mentally, everything is there.

“His weight is good, mood is good, the most important. I think this is a very, very high-level fight.

“I can’t wait to see this match.”

PFL New York begins at 9pm UK time on Friday before the four-fight main card gets underway from midnight.

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Nurmagomedov’s PFL lightweight title defence against Colgan is expected to start at roughly 1.30am UK time on Saturday.

For those in the UK, the full PFL New York card will air live on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel for FREE.