The biggest championship fight of 2020 is finally here!
In the main event, UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will defend his belt for the third time against UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje. Coming in, Nurmagomedov continues to be a dominant force in the 155-pound division thanks to his strong wins over Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
On the other hand, Justin Gaethje has been a rising star following his knockout win over James Vick. Gaethje’s strong performance against Tony Ferguson showcased that the 31-year-old is a championship level fighter. Thus far, Gaethje wins in the UFC have only been by knockout.
In the co-main event, former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier will battle in a contenders match for a future bout against Israel Adesanya. Despite his loss to the current 185-pound champ, Whittaker is still ranked at No. 1 due to his wins over Yoel Romero, Derek Brunson, and Darren Till.
Cannonier's impressive wins over David Branch, Anderson Silva, and Jack Hermansson have seen a resurgence in his UFC career since his transition over to the middleweight division.
Expect Walt Harris, Jacob Malkoun, Lauren Murphy, Magomed Ankalaev, Stefan Struve, Alex Oliveira, and Nathaniel Wood to fight on the pay-per-view as well. Check out the confirmed line-up below:
UFC 254 PPV Main Card on ESPN+ (2 p.m. ET):
UFC Lightweight Championship: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. UFC Interim Lightweight Titleholder Justin Gaethje
Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier
Walt Harris vs. Alexander Volkov
Phil Hawes vs. Jacob Malkoun
Lauren Murphy vs. Liliya Shakirova
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
UFC 254 Prelims Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):
Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa
Alex Oliveira vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Sam Alvey vs. Da Un Jung
Casey Kenney vs. Nathaniel Wood
UFC 254 Prelims Card on ESPN+ (10:30 a.m. ET):
Sergey Morozov vs. TBA
Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick
Joel Alvarez vs. Alexander Yakovlev