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Performance of the Night:
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Unparalleled. Unmatched. Undisputed.
Khabib Nurmagomedov capped a legendary career with another dominant performance, submitting Justin Gaethje in the second round and announcing his retirement moments later.
The bout was his first of 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic scrapped the cursed matchup with Tony Ferguson and was also the first since his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, passed away in July. The emotion was evident immediately following the fight, and in his Octagon interview, the Russian told Jon Anik that there was “no way” he was going to compete again without his father.
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His performance was masterful, with Nurmagomedov pressing forward as usual but choosing to exchange with Gaethje a bit and landing solid jabs and knees. Gaethje fired plenty and fended off some early takedown attempts, but at the end of the first round, Nurmagomedov grabbed Gaethje’s legs and got the bout to the mat, nearly locking up an arm bar. The second round opened with a heavy combination from Gaethje, but Nurmagomedov countered a leg kick with a takedown, shifting into full mount quickly. Moments later, he secured a triangle choke to end the bout a little more than 90 seconds into the second round.
Nurmagomedov laid his gloves down in the Octagon, retiring at 29-0 and as one of the most dominant champions the sport has ever seen.