On Saturday, October 24 undefeated UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov faces interim champion Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi. The championship bout headlines the star-studded UFC 254 PPV, which UFC President Dana White claims is “tracking to be the biggest fight we’ve ever done.” It is the first performance from Khabib since last September and follows the passing of his father, a legendary figure in Russian MMA. Whilst Gaethje became interim champion by TKO’ing Tony Ferguson in May.
Khabib goes into the fight undefeated, with a record of 28-0. White claimed yesterday in the pre-fight press conference that if Khabib was to beat Gaethje on Saturday “he’ll be [the] number one pound for pound fighter in the world” and White agrees that “he is the greatest to do it in this division and is well on the way to GOAT status.” Khabib affirms that he is not looking passed Gaethje, possibly his greatest challenge with the mix of wrestling and boxing, noting the “dynamite on his hands.”
In the co-main event, former Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker faces Jared Cannonier in which the winner will likely get a future title fight. British prospect Nathaniel Wood also returns to action in the prelims.
