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It’s the biggest pay-per-view event of 2020 for the UFC, as the reigning, defending, and undisputed lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov returns to the octagon to face Justin Gaethje on Saturday, October 24th from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Nurmagomedov is one of the biggest stars in MMA, and has accomplished everything you could ask of a cage fighter. He’s 28-0 and has defended the UFC championship twice already, but hasn’t been in a bout since September of 2019 when he defeated Dustin Poirier.
His opponent in the main event Justin Gaethje is 22-2 with 19 career knockouts, and holds the interim championship because of the amount of time Nurmagomedov has been away. “The Highlight” has fought just once since Covid-19 befell the world, knocking out Tony Ferguson in the fifth round on May 9.
The co-main event sees #1 Robert Whittaker face #3 Jared Cannonier at middleweight, with the winner getting a shot at Israel Adesanya’s title. Whittaker has won 10 of his last 11, with his only loss to Adesanya. Cannonier has won three in a row, including ending the career of legend Anderson Silva in a first-round KO. “The Killa Gorilla” knocked out Jack Hermansson in the second round on September 29 last year in his last outing.
With exciting fights up and down the day, it will be a can’t-miss event for MMA fans across the world. Here are the opening odds for UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje on October 24th.
UFC 254 Opening Odds
| Fighter | Fighter |
|---|---|
| Fighter | Fighter |
| Khabib Nurmagomedov -315 | Justin Gaethje +245 |
| Robert Whittaker -106 | Jared Cannonier -118 |
| Alexander Volkov -167 | Walt Harris +136 |
| Jacob Malkoun +215 | Phil Hawes -278 |
| Cynthia Calvillo NL | Lauren Murphy NL |
| Magomed Ankalaev -278 | Ion Cutelaba +215 |
| Stefan Struve -125 | Tai Tuivasa +100 |
| Nathaniel Wood +160 | Casey Kenney -200 |
| Alex Oliveira -162 | Shavkat Rakhmonov +130 |
| Da Un Jung -400 | Sam Alvey +300 |
| Umar Nurmagomedov NL | Sergey Morozov NL |
| Liana Jouja +245 | Miranda Maverick -335 |
| Joel Alvarez -215 | Alexander Yakovlev +169 |
| Islam Makhachev NL | Rafael Dos Anjos NL |
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