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This is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s first fight since the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Mikhail Metzel TASS via Getty Images
UFC 254 takes place this Saturday. At the top of the card is the biggest fight of 2020 – a lightweight unification competition between Khabib Nurmagomedov Y Justin gaethje.
It could also be the most attractive pairing of the year from a style standpoint.
In one corner is Nurmagomedov – the most dominant champion in UFC history. At 28-0, he has only lost one round in his entire MMA career, against Conor McGregor at UFC 229 – and has dominated almost every second he’s been in the Octagon.
In the other corner, possibly their nightmare showdown. Justin Gaethje is not just a technical fighter with concrete slabs for his hands (and perhaps the best leg kicks in MMA), he is also a world-class fighter. The consensus is that Gaethje has a better chance than anyone to keep this fight on his feet and out of the comfort zone of Nurmagomedov, who likes to take down the opponent and destroy him with dirt and blows until he runs out of life and energy. If you want to learn more about this showdown, you can’t do better than Inside The Octagon with Dan Hardy. Great show, great insight.
If you want a little more information about the fight and the pre-contest story, I highly recommend UFC Countdown.
The UFC 254 card is pretty light, with the exception of one fight: a middleweight competition between former champion Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. That will be an absolute hit, so don’t miss out. Whittaker is one of the best middleweights in the UFC and Cannonier has been a wrecking ball in recent years. Most likely, the winner will face the current champion Israel Adesanya, so tune in.
How to watch UFC 254
This year, the UFC partnered with ESPN. That’s good news for the UFC and the expansion of the sport of MMA, but bad news for consumer choice. Especially if you are one of the UFC fans who wants to watch UFC live in the US.
In the US, if you want to know how to watch UFC 254, you will only find fight night on PPV via ESPN Plus. The cost structure is a bit confusing, but here are the options for watching UFC on ESPN, according to the ESPN site.
- Existing ESPN Plus annual subscribers can request the next UFC fight for $ 65.
- Existing monthly ESPN Plus subscribers will be able to upgrade to an annual plan and purchase UFC PPV for $ 85 or purchase the ability to watch the UFC event on PPV for $ 65 for themselves.
- New ESPN Plus subscribers can purchase a UFC PPV (HD broadcast) event package and a recurring annual subscription to ESPN Plus for $ 85. The ESPN Plus annual subscription to ESPN will automatically renew after one year, at the price of an annual ESPN Plus subscription at the time of automatic renewal.
You can do all of the above at the link below.
MMA fans at the United Kingdom you can watch UFC 254 exclusively through BT Sport. There are more options if you live in Australia. You can watch UFC 254 through the Main Event on Foxtel. You can also view it on the UFC website or using their app. You can even order using your PlayStation 4 or using the UFC app on your Xbox One.
Start time
This is strange. Normally UFC events have the same start times, this time it is absolutely the other way around, so pay close attention to the times below. For those in other regions, the UFC has a great list of start times.
US
- The main card begins on October 24 at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).
- The preliminaries begin on October 24 at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT).
- The first preliminaries begin on October 24 at 10.15 am ET (7.15 am PT).
United Kingdom
- The main card begins on October 24 at 7 p.m. BST.
- The preliminaries begin on October 24 at 5 p.m. BST.
- The first preliminaries begin on October 24 at 3.15 BST.
Australia
- The main card begins on October 25 at 5 am AEDT.
- The preliminaries begin on October 25 at 3 am AEDT.
- The first preliminaries begin on October 25 at 1.15 am AEDT.
Fight card
This card is subject to change. A fight scheduled for the first preliminaries, Umar Nurmagomedov against Sergey Morozov, was canceled after Umar Nurmagomedov contracted a nasty staph infection. Expect the card to mix a bit to fit. We will update when we have more concrete details.
Principal card
- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje,
- Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier
- Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris
- Jacob Malhoun vs. Phil Hawes
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lauren Murphy
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
Preliminaries
- Stefan Struve vs. Tai tuivasa
- Alex Oliveira vs. Shavkat Rahkmonov
- Da-ung vs. Sam alvey
First preliminaries
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Casey Kenney
- Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick
- Joel Alvarez vs. Alexander Yakovlev
