"I'm not Dustin or Tony" - When Khabib Nurmagomedov dropped an ominous warning under Joe Rogan's post calling Justin Gaethje a "savage"

Three years ago, Joe Rogan penned a post on Instagram, praising Justin Gaethje ahead of his UFC 254 title fight with then lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who then posted a since-deleted comment on the post. On the app, Rogan shared a clip of Gaethje hitting the pads.

He revealed that he was present for it, watching 'The Highlight' work with his trusted coach Trevor Wittman. Rogan had nothing but good things to say about Gaethje, who held the UFC interim lightweight title at the time, describing him in the following terms:

"Awesome morning at the studio where I had the privilege of seeing the savage @justin_gaethje and the master Trevor Wittman of @onxlabs put in work! Thank you also to my brother @yacoubianmuaythai for the awesome training session!"

Rogan's post inevitably drew Nurmagomedov's attention, who popped up in the longtime UFC commentator's post with a dismissal of Gaethje. While he acknowledged Gaethje as a fair opponent, he advised 'The Highlight' not to neglect his grappling and cardio, promising him to exhaust him.

Moreover, he reminded Gaethje that he was nothing like two of his prior opponents, Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier.

"Justin is a very nice guy and good opponent for me, but when octagon close he have to be ready not only boxing match, I'm not Dustin or Tony. I will take him to the deepest ocean and drown him InshaAllah."

A screenshot of Khabib Nurmagomedov's comment on Joe Rogan's Instagrma post

Ultimately, Nurmagomedov's statement proved correct. Come fight night, he completely overwhelmed Gaethje, walking through all of his offense with nary a hint of concern, before thoroughly outgrappling him en route to one of the slickest transitions between full-mount and a leg-triangle choke submission.

Thereafter, 'The Eagle' retired from MMA with a 29-0 record and was subsequently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

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Joe Rogan did not conduct Khabib Nurmagomedov's post-fight interview at UFC 254

After Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, he broke down in tears, having shouldered the tremendous grief of his father's untimely death after contracting COVID-19. He would retire then and there, but it wasn't Joe Rogan who interviewed him.

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC 254 post-fight interview:

Instead, Nurmagomedov was interviewed by another staple of the UFC commentary booth, Jon Anik. The retirement announcement came as a shock to the MMA world, and Nurmagomedov had to brave numerous attempts at coaxing him back into the octagon until the UFC made peace with his decision.