A much anticipated lightweight title fight headlines Saturday’s UFC 254 pay-per-view card. In that contest, UFC lightweight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov puts his belt — and his perfect 28-0 — record on the line against interim titleholder Justin Gaethje, who has yet to go the distance as a UFC fighter.
Nurmagomedov captured the vacant belt in 2018 with a decision win over late replacement Al Iaquinta. Since taking possession of the 155-pound belt, Nurmagomedov has had two successful defenses of that title. In October 2018, he forced Conor McGregor to tap to a neck crank, and in September 2019 he submitted Dustin Poirier via rear-naked choke.