Justin Gaethje’s list of all-time great MMA fighters has one surprising omission.
The UFC lightweight champion was choked out in two rounds by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020.
Six years later, Justin Gaethje still calls the 29-0 Russian legend the toughest opponent he’s faced.
Despite that, Nurmagomedov does not feature on his last opponent’s MMA Mount Rushmore.
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Justin Gaethje names his top 5 fighters of all time
An MMA Mount Rushmore is a hypothetical list of the four most important, influential, or greatest figures in mixed martial arts history, modeled after the famous Mount Rushmore national memorial in South Dakota.
Justin Gaethje refused to name just four fighters when he was asked about his MMA Mount Rushmore.
Even with one extra spot, Khabib Nurmagomedov still failed to make the list of all-time greats.
“Mount Rushmore is such a hard question,” Gaethje said on the One Night with Steiny podcast.
How many fighters do I get? Four? F— that! Why not six? I’ll make my own, motherf—er.”
“Royce Gracie, Anderson Silva, GSP, Jon Jones, and Chuck Liddell. I think that’s it.”
“No, not mine,” Gaethje added when asked if Khabib should be in there.
🚨 JUSTIN GAETHJE LEAVES KHABIB OFF HIS MOUNT RUSHMORE — AND PICKS JON JONES INSTEAD 😳🔥
🗣️ “So Royce Gracie, Anderson Silva, GSP, Jon Jones…”
When asked if Khabib obviously belongs on the list:
🗣️ “No, not mine. Chuck Liddell.”
That gives Gaethje’s personal top five:
— FightLuck (@FightluckBet) September 26, 2026
When is Justin Gaethje’s next fight?
Justin Gaethje hasn’t fought since becoming the first man to beat Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 in June.
The 37-year-old unified the lightweight division by forcing Topuria’s corner to stop the fight ahead of the final round.
Gaethje plans to sit out for the rest of 2026 to heal up some injuries and contemplate his fighting future.
If he decides to continue in MMA, Gaethje is 100% sure who his first title defense will be against.
“It’s not that I don’t want to fight Arman; it really isn’t. He’s the next in line,” he said earlier this week.
“If and when I defend this championship, that will be who I fight. I just don’t know right now.
“I gave a lot of myself for this fight in January and June. Luckily, I came out on top, but it cost me a lot, so I need to recover. I need to rest my brain, because a lot of training went into those fights.
“I’m going to enjoy being champion the rest of the year. I’m going to make a business decision and a life decision whenever the time comes.”
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