Justin Gaethje has been branded the "real life terminator" after he shrugged off a brutal head kick in sparring ahead of UFC 254.
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And 'The Highlight' has showed off his toughness as he prepares to face 'The Eagle' in a highly-anticipated unification bout.
The American knockout artist ate a clean head kick to the head like it was nothing and kept moving forward in a recent training clip.
Gaethje heads into the showdown on the back of four consecutive wins including a dominant victory over Tony Ferguson earlier this year at UFC 249.
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He stopped Ferguson in the fifth round of their main-event clash to claim the UFC interim lightweight title.
And he's warned Nurmagomedov that he'll create a "zone of death" when they meet in the Octagon next month.
"I was a Division-I All-American," he told Michael Bisping. "Again, I've wrestled some of the toughest guys in their prime.
"Division-I college wrestling in America is the highest level other than going to the Olympics and wrestling on the international level. But we're not wrestling anymore.
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"There's going to be a zone in front of me. It's not very big. It's going to be a zone of death, and if I have to represent death every time he enters the zone, that's what I'm the best (at) - creating carnage, creating car crashes.
"So, my only goal when I step in there is to create as many car crashes as possible, whether it be our bodies hitting, our heads hitting, our (expletive) shoulders hitting, our fists hitting, my fist hitting his head, his fist hitting my head, it doesn't matter. I need to create car crashes, because that's the only way to beat this guy."
Nurmagomedov, unbeaten in 28 MMA fights, responded to Gaethje's claim.
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"Class, I how he talk and his confidence, so this fight promises to be the best fight this year. I have something to show the world," he said.
Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje will serve as the main-event of the stacked UFC 254 on October 24.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/InstagramTopics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, UFC News, Fight News, UFC