Khabib Nurmagomedov underlined his status as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time when he defeated Justin Gaethje and unified the lightweight championship at UFC 254 on ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.
‘The Eagle’ claimed a submission win over interim champion Gaethje when he locked in a triangle choke 1 minute and 34 seconds into the second round. Gaethje’s tap to submit was initially missed by the referee, but the match was soon stopped when the challenger briefly lost consciousness.
Moving to a perfect career record of 29-0, Khabib then dropped a bombshell in the post-fight interview when he laid down his gloves in the Octagon and announced his retirement.
The 32-year-old insisted that he cannot face having further fights without the presence of his father, who died following Covid-19-related complications earlier this year.
“It was my last fight here. I know only one thing I want for UFC… you guys have to put me No 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world because I deserve it,” Nurmagomedov said. “Undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion, 13-0 [in the UFC] … I think I deserve it.”
In the co-main event, Robert Whittaker secured a unanimous decision victory over an incredibly resilient Jared Cannonier to put himself back into the middleweight title picture. Whittaker, a former middleweight champion, did not call out current division king Israel Adesanya even though a repeat of their October 2019 fight is now surely a strong possibility.
“I’m going straight home and putting up the Christmas tree,” said Whittaker, who used his speed, movement and dexterous striking to dominate Cannonier.
The rest of the main card saw spectacular first-round TKO wins for Magomed Ankalaev over Ion Cutelaba and Phil Hawes over Jacob Malkoun (just 18 seconds for the latter), Lauren Murphy outsmarted Liliya Shakirova with a submission win in a women’s flyweight match, and Alexander Volkov took down fellow heavyweight Walt Harris with a TKO in round two.
The UFC returns to the United States next weekend for a Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 1 November, headlined by a match between middleweight legend Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall.
UFC 254 – Main card results
– Main event: Lightweight championship: Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Justin Gaethje via second round technical submission (triangle choke)
– Co-main: Middleweight: Robert Whittaker def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
– Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov def. Walt Harris via second round TKO (kicks and punches)
– Middleweight: Phil Hawes def. Jacob Malkoun via first round TKO (punches)
– Women’s flyweight: Lauren Murphy def. Liliya Shakirova via second round submission (rear-naked choke)
– Light heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev def. Ion Cutelaba via first round TKO (punches)
