UFC 254: ‘Khabib vs Gaethje’ fight card receives shakeup following the removal of Islam Makhachev

By Harry Kettle - October 15, 2020

The UFC 254 card has been hit by a late change as the Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael dos Anjos fight has been officially called off.

Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov

Many fans were excited to see Makhachev get back into the cage and attempt to extend his current winning streak at UFC 254, but he won’t be doing so on Fight Island after it was announced that the aforementioned dos Anjos was pulled from the card as a result of a positive COVID-19 test.

Now, as reported by MMA Fighting, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has produced the full UFC 254 fight card as the countdown continues to this huge event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDlECe9h7Ks

UFC 254 Main Card:

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje

Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier

Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris

Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lauren Murphy

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba

UFC 254 Preliminary card:

Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa

Jacob Malkoun vs. Phil Hawes

Alex Oliveira vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

Da-un Jung vs. Sam Alvey

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozof

Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick

Nathaniel Wood vs. Casey Kenney

Joel Alvarez vs. Alexander Yakovlev

The UFC 254 headline bout is still, of course, the Lightweight Championship showdown between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. While many are automatically writing this off as a win for “The Eagle”, Gaethje is interested to see what happens if and when he makes the champ bleed.
“I know I’m going to see his blood. I want him to see his blood and I want to see his reaction. He isn’t as crazy as me, that’s the thing,” Justin Gaethje said to ESPN. “I think he is crazy and loves competition but he isn’t quite as crazy as me. He also hasn’t seen his blood many times, I’m sure. His style of fighting is not something where you are looking for blood. I bet that doesn’t even cross his mind that he will see his own blood. That has never been a factor for him.”

This is the kind of card that is bound to deliver in regards to the main event but further down, there’s also a very good chance we’ll see some underrated gems appear on the prelims.

Either way the UFC knows that they have an absolutely huge star on their hands when it comes to Khabib, and the champion alone is going to sell this as a massive event.


Topics:

Islam Makhachev Justin Gaethje Khabib Nurmagomedov Rafael dos Anjos UFC UFC 254