Khabib Nurmagomedov Submits Justin Gaethje and Announces Retirement at UFC 254 | combat

– Thanks to the guys who are with me. This is my last fight. There is no way to come back here without my dad. When the UFC called me to fight Justin, I spoke with my mom for three days. I promised it would be my last fight. If I give my word, I have to keep it – said Nurmagomedov, who ends his career with a perfect record of 29 wins in 29 fights.

Gaethje managed to keep the fight in the center of the octagon early in the fight with lots of feints and off guard. He launched the first attack with a low kick, followed by crosses. After about two minutes of fighting, Khabib began to look for the legs of the challenger, who avoided the first attempts to fall. The Russian surprised with a knee to the head and increased the volume of blows to force the American to walk backwards. Gaethje took a lot of punches to the face, but landed a strong, straight punch to the champion’s face. With 40 seconds to go, Nurmagomedov managed to quit. With great technique, he approached the mount and was about to place an arm bar, but the timer was reset.

Gaethje came back for the second round with a nice low kick. When he tried the blow again, he saw Khabib setting the time and applying the takedown early in the round. On the ground, he again showed his highest technical quality in the question, fitting the triangle and adjusting the position until the American gave all three pats and the fight was over. For the pride of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

With top-level performance, Whittaker beats Cannonier

Robert Whittaker proved that he deserves the rematch for the middleweight title (up to 84 kg) against Israel Adesanya. In the UFC 254 co-main event, the Australian gave Jared Cannonier a jab clinic, came close to knocking out in the third round and unanimously won (triple 29-28) the number 2 in the category.

Cannonier was the first to cause danger by unbalancing his opponent with a ground kick. This type of blow annoyed the Australian in the opening minutes, but gradually Whittaker found the distance and began to land good shots, but suffered with kicks to the right leg during the balanced opening round. Returning for the second round, the former champion began to explore more punches and, even with the American’s low kicks, managed to have more advantage.

Quick in movement and boxing, Whittaker tried to set the pace as the opponent followed the strategy of applying low kicks to score. With just over a minute from the end of the second round, the Australian landed a takedown, tried to go for the back, but lost his position and controlled the home stretch with his jabs. Early in the final round, Whittaker landed a combination jab, straight kick and high kick and knocked Cannonier to the ground. At the top, the Australian went for the saddle, took the back, put the hooks on it, but gave the American room to stand. The fight appeared to be controlled by Whittaker, but Cannonier’s forehand shot in the final seconds shook his opponent, who managed to drive until the timer was reset.

Other highlights of the main card

The UFC 254 main card also had other good times. Right in the opening, Magomed Ankalaev repeated the result of the first meeting with Ion Cutelaba and knocked him out in the first round. Then it was Lauren Murphy’s turn to subdue Liliya Shakirova in the second round with a bare butt choke. In the rookie duel, Phil Hawes knocked out Jacob Malkoun, Robert Whittaker’s teammate, in 18 seconds. It was the second-fastest win for a rookie in Ultimate history. The first is from Mark Weir, in 10 seconds, at UFC 38. For the heavyweights, Alexander Volkov dominated Walt Harris and got the TKO in the second round after hitting a kick to the body.

UFC 254
October 24, 2020, at Fight Island, Abu Dhabi
EVENT CARD:
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje via submission with 1m34s of R2
Robert Whittaker defeated Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision (triple 29-28)
Alexander Volkov defeated Walt Harris by TKO with 1m15s of R2
Phil Hawes defeated Jacob Malkoun by knockout at 18s of R1
Lauren Murphy defeated Liliya Shakirova via submission at 3:31 from R2.
Magomed Ankalaev defeated Ion Cutelaba by TKO in 4m19s of R1
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Tai Tuivasa defeated Stefan Struve by knockout at 4:59:59 of R1
Casey Kenney defeated Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 30-27)
Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Alex Cowboy via submission at 4:40 of R1
Sam Alvey and Da Un Jung tied by split decision (28-29, 29-28 and 28-28)
Miranda Maverick defeated Liana Jojua by technical knockout at 5m of the R1
Joel Álvarez defeated Alexander Yakovlev by submission at the 3 meters of the R1

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