UFC 254: Khabib Nurmagomedov retires after choking out Justin Gaethje
At UFC 254, Khabib Nuramgomedov showed the world why he is considered one of the very best to ever compete in mixed martial arts.
A few months since the tragic death of his father Adbulmanap, “The Eagle” soared in his victory over an always-game Justin Gaethje. Afterwards, the Dagestan native announced his retirement from the sport.
Nurmagomedov looked a man on a missed and looked absolutely fearless in his relentless pressure against the dangerous Gaethje.
Khabib was happy to trade strikes with Gaethje and never let up in backing the American up against the cage.
Gaethje was happy to fire back with shots but always seemed rightly cautious of being taken down and that happened as the first round neared its end. Khabib dove for a takedown and got it, almost instantly moving into full mount before working on an armbar as the round ended.
That was a sign of things to come in the second round. Khabib didn’t wait around this time and perfectly executed one of his trademark takedowns early on.
Again, Khabib quickly moved to full mount with little resistance. After threatening with an arm-triangle, The Eagle synched up a triangle choke from mount which immediately spelled danger for Gaethje.
Gaethje attempted to slam his way out of trouble, but that was all in vain as he quickly succumbed to the submission. His taps were missed by referee Jason Herzog and the fight was called off once the cage official realised Gaethje had been choked unconscious.
UFC 254: Robert Whittaker looks impressive in decision win over Jared Cannonier
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker propelled himself back into the title picture with a commanding unanimous decision victory over the dangerous Jared Cannonier.
Whittaker looked in fine form against his counterpart. Whittaker’s boxing looked sharp – his jab did great work in repelling any blitzed attacks from Cannonier, while he headhunted with his punches accurately.
Cannonier had some success of his own – namely with some stinging leg kicks in an attempt to stifle the bouncing, in-and-out movement style Whittaker uses to feint and strike.
Going into the third round, both fighters had already given a good account of themselves. However, it was the Australian who cemented the win in the final stanza.
Whittaker almost finished the fight with his patented jab-cross-headkick combination which landed flush on a floundering Cannonier.
The American showed tremendous chin and heart to somehow survive the kick and the subsequent onslaught of punches. In fact, “The Killa Gorilla” managed to get back to his feet and even wobbled Whittaker with punches of his own to close the round.
However, that wasn’t enough to sway the judges as all three scored the fight 29-28 in Whittaker’s favour. Great fight and one which deserved five rounds.
UFC 254: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje full results
Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) def. Justin Gaethje (ic) by technical submission (triangle choke) at 1:34 of round two
Middleweight: Robert Whittaker def. Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision after three rounds
Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov def. Walt Harris by TKO (body kick and punches) at 1:15 of round two
Middleweight: Phil Hawes def. Jacob Malkoun by KO (punches) at 0:18 of round one
Women’s Flyweight: Lauren Murphy def. Liliya Shakirova by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:31 of round two
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev def. Ion Cuțelaba by KO (punches) at 4:19 of round one
Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa def. Stefan Struve by KO (punches) at 4:59 of round one
Catchweight: Casey Kenney def. Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision after three rounds
Catchweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Alex Oliveira by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:40 of round one
Light Heavyweight: Da Un Jung and Sam Alvey fought to a split draw after three rounds
Women’s Flyweight: Miranda Maverick def. Liana Jojua by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round one
Catchweight: Joel Álvarez def. Alexander Yakovlev by submission (armbar) at 3:00 of round one