UFC Lightweight Title Fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje

Round 1
We made it to the UFC 254 headliner, in a rare title unification matchup as champion Nurmagomedov (28-0, 12-0 UFC) looks to keep his spotless record intact against interim titleholder “The Highlight” Gaethje (22-2, 5-2 UFC). This lightweight thriller for all the marbles will draw the assignment of referee Jason Herzog, and nothing more needs to be said to introduce what we are about to see here. The two men touch gloves to check in this top-tier fight, and we’re off to the races. Both men keep their distance early, with Gaethje leaning low and starting out with an inside leg kick. Nurmagomedov does not throw anything nor does he set up anything, and Gaethje thinks about another leg kick and lands it hard. Gaethje scores a right hand, and Nurmagomedov counters him with an overhand right. Nurmagomedov leaps up with an uppercut, and Gaethje is well out of the way. Nurmagomedov lands a jab and gets caught with a leg kick, leading him to rush in to a clinch. Nurmagomedov cannot get hold of him, and Gaethje swings wildly with hooks. He cracks Nurmagomedov with a right hand, and he scores two more heavy leg kicks. Nurmagomedov is chasing after him with long punches, and Nurmagomedov lands a body kick. Nurmagomedov jabs and rushes forward with a knee. Gaethje avoids a right hand and kicks the lead leg. Gaethje fires up a head kick, and Nurmagomedov shrugs at him after it gets blocked. Gaethje wings another leg kick, and Nurmagomedov scores a left hand and a body kick. The Russian leaps in the air with a flying knee, and he sticks Gaethje a few times with a jab. A few more jabs disrupt Gaethje’s movement, and the American gets off a leg kick. Two big left hooks score for Nurmagomedov, and Gaethje cracks him back harder. Gaethje smashes his leg into the thigh, and he nails Nurmagomedov with a left hand. The Russian charges in to close the distance, and he hits a double leg takedown with 30 seconds to go. “The Eagle” climbs to mount with ease, and he rolls for an armbar with seconds to go. Gaethje punches the body a few times as he is unconcerned with submission danger, and the round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov
John Brannigan scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov

Round 2
Nurmagomedov starts the round with a few jabs and a follow-up right hand. Gaethje jumps at him to respond, and the Russian scores a leg kick of his own. Gaethje is on the defensive as he backs away, and Nurmagomedov is on him pressing the action. Nurmagomedov takes a left hand behind the ear, and he rushes in for a takedown but gets stuffed. Gaethje lands a leg kick to make his opponent stumble, and when Nurmagomedov recovers, he hits a takedown effortlessly. “The Eagle” slices to mount like a hot knife through butter, attacking an arm-triangle submission in the blink of an eye. Nurmagomedov sets up a mounted triangle choke, and he rolls to his back as he threatens with a triangle armbar. Gaethje is stuck in the worst position of his life, and try as he might, he can’t pull himself free. Gaethje lifts him up to slam him down, and he gets no space so he starts tapping out. Herzog does not see the repeated taps as Nurmagomedov tries to inform him that Gaethje submitted. Instead, Gaethje goes out, and Herzog finally calls a stop to the fight. Khabib Nurmagomedov is now 29-0 as a professional, and in the process, he unified his belts and ties the record for the most championship defenses in UFC lightweight history.
When the fight is over, Nurmagomedov is overcome with emotion, letting everything out on his knees in the middle of the cage. As Gaethje comes to, he goes over to console his former foe. Dana White wraps the belt around Nurmagomedov's waist, and Nurmagomedov pulls the tape off his gloves and gets his corner to help him remove it. Nurmagomedov retires in the cage, thanking everything for supporting him, the UFC for signing him, and his family for being there for him. He promised his mother that this would be his last fight, and he leaves his gloves in the center of the Octagon. If this is truly his final UFC bout -- and judging by his post-fight speech, it is -- he leaves behind an incredible legacy with 13 victories under the UFC banner, as arguably the #1 pound-for-pound fighter and one of the best to ever compete in the sport. It's unlikely we'll see someone like him in MMA again.

The Official Result
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Justin Gaethje R2 1:34 via Technical Submission (Triangle Choke)

UFC Lightweight Title Fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor

Round 1
Referee Herb Dean will oversee tonight’s lightweight championship main event, with judges Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo scoring the bout should it complete the scheduled five rounds. The fighters are kept a few feet apart during final instructions, and they opt not to touch gloves. McGregor takes the center of the cage at the start and lobs a long left hand at Nurmagomedov, who circles to McGregor’s right around the outside. Nurmagomedov shoots a long single-leg, but McGregor sprawls, then stands and balances on one foot as “The Eagle” tries to spin him down. Nurmagomedov’s next effort yields a takedown, and plants McGregor at the base of the fence, triangling the Irishman’s legs to keep him grounded. Nurmagomedov complains that McGregor is grabbing his shorts, and referee Dean appears to swat McGregor’s hands away. Halfway through the round, Nurmagomedov remains on top, controlling McGregor’s leg and burying his head under the challenger’s chin. McGregor tries to post and stand, but Nurmagomedov still has control of his legs. McGregor frees his legs and tries butterfly guard; Nurmagomedov immediately passes to half guard and puts heavy pressure on McGregor’s torso. McGregor remains flat on his back in the final minute, trying to punch and palm strike but having little room to do so. Nurmagomedov postures up just before the horn to land a pair of punches, but McGregor saunters back to his corner with a smile on his face.

Sherdog Scores
Ben Duffy scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov

Round 2
McGregor takes the center again and fires a few kicks at Nurmagomedov, then narrowly misses with a leaping knee. Nurmagomedov comes back to the middle and floors McGregor with a missile right hand. McGregor gets back on unsteady legs and engages in a brief firefight before Nurmagomedov opts to double-leg and plow “The Notorious” to the floor. McGregor is flattened out, his right side flush to the fence as Nurmagomedov passes to side control. Nurmagomedov has an arm-triangle framed up, but he abandons it in favor of full mount. McGregor scrambles to recover full guard, but now Nurmagomedov is posturing up to land right hands to the body, a few left hands to the face. McGregor is eating some hard shots in between chatting with Nurmagomedov, who’s turning up the volume on his ground-and-pound toward the middle of the frame. Nurmagomedov stands over McGregor and bombs him with punches, both hands falling on the challenger’s face. Nurmagomedov can’t produce a finish, so he comes back to the ground, in side control on McGregor’s right side. Nurmagomedov leans across the body to try a kimura on McGregor’s left arm, but the fence gives him little room to work. McGregor sits up against the wall and leaves his neck exposed; Nurmagomedov gets a headlock but releases as McGregor stands up, now with 40 seconds on the clock. Nurmagomedov keeps him glued to the fence, with McGregor landing a few elbows to the side of the champion’s head in the closing seconds.

Sherdog Scores
Ben Duffy scores the round 10-8 Nurmagomedov
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-8 Nurmagomedov
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-8 Nurmagomedov

Round 3
McGregor comes at Nurmagomedov with uppercuts to the start the round, mixing up his punches to the body and head with middling success. Nurmagomedov snaps off a jab, deflects a hard left hand, but he’s not giving McGregor much to worry about in terms of offense. The challenger continues to press forward, now sprawls on a shot and stands Nurmagomedov back up. McGregor lands a clinch elbow, but Nurmagomedov pushes him away and socks him with a hard right. Two minutes in, Nurmagomedov initiates a clinch on the fence; this time, McGregor peels the Russian’s hands away and walks him back to the middle of the cage. Nurmagomedov doubles up on a jab; McGregor answers with a body blow. McGregor shrugs off another clinch, but Nurmagomedov comes back to drive him against the fence. McGregor climbs back up from a brief takedown as Nurmagomedov keeps him pinned to the wall with 60 seconds on the clock. With his hands being controlled, McGregor’s only option in this position is to throw knees, but he has little space to do so

Sherdog Scores
Ben Duffy scores the round 10-9 McGregor
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 McGregor
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 McGregor

Round 4
McGregor takes the center of the cage and keeps Nurmagomedov at a distance with long jabs and front kicks to the body. After a minute of this, however, Nurmagomedov bulldozes his way forward and plants McGregor on the ground at the foot of the fence. McGregor gets to his feet and puts both hands on the ground, but Nurmagomedov rips him away from the wall and tries to take the challenger’s back. McGregor rolls over, leaving Nurmagomedov in a three-quarter mount with McGregor trapping his right foot. Nurmagomedov abandons another arm-triangle choke setup but remains in full mount at the halfway point of the round. After eating a few solid left hands, McGregor rolls over, giving up his back. Within seconds, Nurmagomedov has his right arm wrapped around the Irishman’s jaw; seconds later, McGregor is tapping out.
What ensues is chaos. Nurmagomedov initially has words for McGregor, failing to stand up immediately after referee Dean stops the fight. The champion then climbs out of the cage and rushes into the crowd, apparently attacking someone from the McGregor camp who was sitting cageside. Meanwhile, inside the cage, one of Nurmagomedov’s cornermen -- Zubaira Tukhugov, according to UFC announcer Jon Anik -- reportedly attacked and landed a right hand on Conor McGregor. McGregor is escorted backstage by security and commissioners, while Nurmagomedov remains in the cage, demanding to have his hand raised.
“This is what I believe,” UFC President Dana White tells him. “If I put this belt on you, everybody’s gonna start throwing s--t into the Octagon.”
Moments later, Nurmagomedov is whisked backstage, and Bruce Buffer reads the official decision in an empty cage.

The Official Result
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Conor McGregor via Submission (Neck Crank) R4 3:03