On Saturday, Oct. 24, the UFC hosted UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The event once again featured no fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the night’s main event, undefeated lightweight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov clashed with interim champion Justin Gaethje in a title unification bout. Nurmagomedov was last in action at UFC 242, also in Abu Dhabi. The Dagestan native scored a third-round submission win over Dustin Poirier to extend his record to 28-0. Gaethje, meanwhile, earned the biggest win of his career in May, dominating former No. 1 contender Tony Fergurson en route to a fifth-round stoppage. The Colorado product captured interim gold in the process, setting up the bout with Nurmagomedov.
The event kicked off with two fights streaming on ESPN+ at 11 a.m. ET. Four additional prelims aired on both ESPN 2 and ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET. The six-fight main card followed live on ESPN+ pay-per-view at 2 p.m. ET.
Robert Whittaker def. Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Alexander Volkov def. Walt Harris by TKO (kick to the body). Round 2, 1:15
Phil Hawes def. Jacob Malkoun by knockout (punches). Round 1, 0:18
Lauren Murphy def. Liliya Shakirova by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 2, 3:31
Magomed Ankalaev def. Ion Cutelaba by knockout (punches). Round 1, 4:19
Tai Tuivasa def. Stefan Struve by knockout (punches). Round 1, 4:59
Casey Kenney def. Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Alex Oliveira by submission (guillotine choke). Round 1, 4:40
Sam Alvey vs. Da Un Jung ruled a split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
Miranda Maverick def. Liana Jojua by TKO (doctor’s stoppage). Round 1, 5:00
Joel Alvarez def. Alexander Yakovlev by submission (armbar). Round 1, 3:00