UFC 254 results: Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Justin Gaethje to remain undefeated champion

UFC 254 results: Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Justin Gaethje to remain undefeated champion

Khabib Nurmagomedov retained his lightweight world championship after successfully defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 this evening, but then shocked the world by announcing his retirement.

Going into the bout, a lot of people were suggesting that the American could be Khabib\’s toughest challenge to date, but it was once again another successful day at the office, or in the cage, for The Eagle.

Fighting for the first time since the loss of his father, Khabib did his dad proud, who was no doubt watching down on his son beaming with pride and joy.

Just 24 hours before the fight, however, UFC fans around the world were left feeling rather worried for Khabib, after his appearance at the weigh-in raised questions about his condition and whether he was truly ready to fight.

Conspiracies were launched about whether or not he made weight healthily, while others claimed he was still struggling with the loss of his father.

However, come fight night, the Russian did what the Russian does best. Win.

It was the second round in which Khabib got the job done, taking Gaethje to the mat and then locking him in a triangle choke before the challenger had nothing left to do but to tap out.

Khabib has now extended his record to a remarkable 29-0, but that\’s where it will end after he announced his retirement during his post-fight interview.

As for Gaethje, who earned this fight after he successfully defeated Tony Ferguson earlier this year, his record now stands at 22-3.

Full Results
Elsewhere on the main card, Magomed Ankalaev stopped Ion Cutelaba in the first round, Lauren Murphy was victorious over Liliya Shakirova via submission in the second and Phil Hawes produced arguably the performance of the night to stop Jacob Malkoun in just 18 seconds.

In the heavyweight division, it was Alexander Volkov who had his hand raised in the second round as he defeated Walt Harris, while the co-main event ended with Robert Whittaker successfully beating Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision.