Gaethje tapped 3 times vs. Khabib
Gaethje said he tapped three times in his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov and was choked unconscious, contradicting a referee who insisted he would never tap.
Snapshot · The Joe Rogan Experience
JRE MMA Show #181 with Justin Gaethje & Trevor Wittman
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Jun 20, 2026
Where this was said
Referee Controversies — Beltran and the Khabib Tap
At 1:38:32 · chapter starts 1:38:20
Gaethje lays out his case against Mike Beltran in the Chandler fight: after an eye poke, Beltran asked 'are you good?' rather than stopping the fight and giving Gaethje his five minutes. Gaethje said no and then said yes in the same breath — because the question was wrong. The right statement is 'you have five minutes,' not 'are you good?' That distinction cost Gaethje time to recover and led to him absorbing a major clean shot. Beltran has never acknowledged wrongdoing, which is what still infuriates Gaethje. Then comes the Khabib story: Gaethje tapped three times before going unconscious, and a referee later told him — multiple times, in different conversations — that he knows Gaethje would never tap. Even with Gaethje insisting 'I tapped,' the referee wouldn't accept it. Gaethje shrugs: at least being choked out doesn't carry the same TBI risks as a knockout. But still.
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