After Justin Gaethje’s stunning stoppage of Tony Ferguson for the interim Lightweight Championship at UFC 249 in May, the question on every fight fan’s lips was if Gaethje had the power and takedown defence to be the perfect solution to the puzzle that was Khabib Nurmagomedov. UFC 254 provided the answer to that question and many more.
‘The Skyscraper’ falls again as Tuivasa returns to form:
In the featured preliminary bout of the night, fans were treated to a complete clash of styles in the Heavyweight division as the near seven-foot Stefan Struve took on the stocky, powerful Australian Tai Tuivasa.
Both men would come into this bout on the back of losses with Tuivasa looking to snap a three-fight skid and Struve only getting his hand raised once out of his last five fights. This fight could have likely been seen as a true test of which of these two fighters has the capability to potentially make a championship run in a Heavyweight division that is full of questions after the UFC’s hesitancy to commit to Francis Ngannou as Stipe Miocic’s next challenger and the impending Heavyweight debut of arguably the greatest Light Heavyweight of all time, Jon Jones.
Ultimately it would be Tuivasa who would be victorious as he would repeatedly look to pressure the Dutchman up against the cage in the clinch, negating Struve’s nine-inch advantage in both height and reach.
With just over ten seconds left in the opening round, Struve would look to drag Tuivasa to the ground from the clinch, the attempt would fail, however and would leave Struve slowly getting to his feet while Tuivasa was still upright and throwing dangerous hooks.
With only a second left in the round, Tuivasa would find his shot in the form of an uppercut that would crumple his opponent and award him with a comfortable victory against a difficult matchup both physically and stylistically.
‘Bobby Knuckles’ gains chance at redemption:
In the co-main event spot, former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker looked to disrupt the championship run of number three ranked Jared Cannonier and secure his own shot at the title and a rematch with Isreal Adesanya.
Whittaker looked much more comfortable than he did in his last outing against Darren Till and the proof was in the pudding, a unanimous decision for the Aussie and a badly bruised and swollen eye for Cannonier.
Cannonier fought behind his leg kicks for much of the first round but as the fight wore on, Whittaker became more effective with his counters and punishing Cannonier with the jab. The American did well to survive the final round after a head kick badly rocked him, but the decision was inevitable as all three judges gave the bout to Whittaker 29-28.
Khabib makes it look easy against Gaethje, retires on top:
In what may have been the most anticipated main events of 2020, even the most steadfast Khabib fan could not have predicted just how easy it would have been for ‘The Eagle’.
The speculation going in was that if Gaethje had any chance to win, it would be on the feet, with ‘The Highlight’ using his wrestling to keep Nurmagomedov standing and on the back foot. As the paper talk transitioned to the actual fight, Khabib would walk forward confidently and defiantly, welcoming the strikes of Gaethje and responding with his jab throughout the first round.
Khabib would manage a takedown late in the opening frame and threaten with an armbar but could not secure it before the horn.
Nurmagomedov would wrestle Gaethje to the ground again early in the second and would show his excellence by transitioning into a triangle choke that put the challenger to sleep.
In his post-fight interview, Khabib shockingly announced his retirement from MMA, citing the recent death of his father as the primary cause. Khabib revealed that he made a promise to his mother that after his fight with Gaethje, he would not fight again without his father by his side to guide him, and urged the audience to spend more time with their parents and appreciate them while they are still with you.
Khabib retires as one of the sport’s all-time greats, undefeated, retired as champion and with a litany of elite talent in the Lightweight division in his wake.
What’s next?
While the MMA community is still reeling from the retirement of Khabib, it is probably not the best time to remember that Anderson Silva has already announced his impending retirement following his main event Fight Night bout with Uriah Hall next weekend, in what will be the UFC’s first event to fall on Halloween night, meaning that the UFC will lose arguably the greatest Lightweight and Middleweight of all time in the space of a week.
The UFC’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 255 is set to be headlined by a duo of Flyweight title bouts, with Deiveson Figueiredo defending his newly won UFC Flyweight Championship against Alex Perez after original challenger Cody Garbrandt was forced to pull out of the scheduled clash with a torn bicep. In the co-main event slot, dominant UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko will defend her championship against Jennifer Maia.
In terms of what’s next for the fighters that appeared on this card, Dana White said in his post-fight press conference that a rematch between Whittaker and Adesanya was ‘very appealing’, potentially dumping cold water on the rumours of a proposed fight between Adesanya and Jon Jones as Jones is still putting on weight ahead of his move to heavyweight and will be unlikely to be able to cut down to 205 pounds after that process is done and will be unlikely to wait for a bout with Adesanya before moving up.
The now-vacant UFC Lightweight Championship has already been the talk of the sport as everyone from fighters to coaches to media members has a different opinion on how the next champion should be decided as some are pointing to the January clash between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier as the perfect fight to make for the vacant championship, while others have suggested an impromptu four-man tournament to crown the 155-pound division’s new kingpin.
The problem with this suggestion is the issue of who to put into said tournament as the Lightweight division still has a staggering number of legitimate contenders in Gaethje, Tony Ferguson, Poirier, McGregor, Dan Hooker, Charles Oliveira and the yet-to-debut former Bellator champion Michael Chandler.
Full card results:
Main Card
Lightweight – Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) def. Justin Gaethje via Technical Submission (Triangle Choke, Round 2 – 1:34)
Middleweight – Robert Whittaker def. Jared Cannonier via Unanimous Decision
Heavyweight – Alexander Volkov def. Walt Harris via TKO (Round 2 – 1:15)
Middleweight – Phil Hawes def. Jacob Malkoun via KO (Round 1 – 0:18)
Women’s Flyweight – Lauren Murphy def. Liliya Shakirova via Submission (Rear naked choke, Round 2 – 3:31)
Light Heavyweight – Magomed Ankalaev def. Ion Cutelaba via KO (Round 1 – 4:19)
Preliminary Card
Heavyweight – Tai Tuivasa def. Stefan Struve via KO (Round 1 – 4:59)
140lbs Catchweight – Casey Kenney def. Nathaniel Wood via Unanimous Decision
173lbs Catchweight – Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Alex Oliveira via Submission (Guillotine choke, Round 1 – 4:40)
Light Heavyweight – Da Un Jung vs Sam Alvey fought to a draw
Early Preliminary Card
Women’s Flyweight – Miranda Maverick def. Liana Jojua via TKO (Doctor’s stoppage following Round 1)
159.5lbs Catchweight – Joel Alvarez def. Alexander Yakovlev via Submission (Armbar, Round 1 – 3:00)
The Inbound Observer 