Free Fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje

[Applause] okay fighters gone over the rules in the back there were no final question from you blue there were no final question from you red you've already touched gloves come out ready to fight talk to me dc big fight field man in abu dhabi everyone knows this is the toughest fight the best fight at 155 pounds and we are finally here we will see who is the champion can justin ganci get it done or does khabib remain the champ and the dominant force in the division khabib in his usual role as betting favorite minus 3 15. justin gaichi is plus 250 gaichi is in blue with the gold trim khabib is in the black and gold befitting a champion the weight ends for this epic title unification bout we shall see who has the upper hand but being pretty relaxed man having a moment with you before the fight yeah man you know this is big time fight you know but this guy's been here before but this is the range that justin needs to be at you see how he's far away to where if habib does change levels justin can defend and see it coming i really do believe that this is one of the keys to why justin has made the improvements that he's made is that he look at his footwork look at his movement he's never stationary he's a moving target now he's not just a zombie trying to walk guys down and make him fight him in a firefight that's a good point especially one to make early there are layers to his game a lot of setups and he has impeccable timing with that right hand we'll see if he can find a home for it tonight and the kicks you know how bieb has to try to close the distance here but you cannot be reckless with a guy that has dynamite in his hands like justin gage big right hand from khabib lands and a nice counter shot from gaichi and when you get an athlete like khabib nurmagomedov you know at times they want to prove that wait i'm not so outclassed in this one area of a fight i can't stand but the moment justin believes this is a stand-up fight that is when he's going to try to change levels and get to the legs you notice gait she stands a little lower today opposed to the ferguson fight before he was very tall right here you see him almost in a lower stance more of a wrestling stance nice jab lance about two minutes have gone by there's that patented leg kick from daichi the mega metal has a fantastic jab man that pace and pressure of habib is what separates him from those guys justin's gonna have to be able to stay with this he has successfully thwarted the first takedown attempt at vermont who touches the toes to the body there right hand lands for caichi justin needs to tighten it up a little bit though man that's not something you saw much in the ferguson fight when he started to throw big shots coach woodman told him slow it down you don't have to load up on everything you don't have to knock him out with every shot and when justin did that it's when he started to reel the piece tony ferguson up beautiful body kick lands now the jab follows up it's that pressure man look at the pressure how b puts on you the whole time he's got justin on his heels he's not allowing justin to take the center of the octagon look like a pretty big knee there if i'm not mistaken [Music] realizing some success on the feet here three minutes in and a lot of that success comes from the idea that justin has to defend take down john you see him almost dropping his hands and head every time habib enters but look at the pressure that habib is putting on genji right now so not necessarily with a point to prove but this is a well-rounded mixed martial arts yeah yeah and look at the jab of habib it's working he's popping gaichi but ultimately he does need to mix in the wrestler he has only attempted one takedown thus far unofficially well the problem with justin gates is right now he's trying to react to everything habib is doing he's got to find a way to get some respect and stop habit from walking him down like this oh nice body shot the left hook up top from gaichi beats without issue yeah but that one needs to get respect right every time justin hits people with that he gets respect right now still walking him down but those leg kicks beautiful leg pick that gets you and if you keep landing those that'll get some respect right hand over the top partially lands for gaichi and again that front kick of demagogue the killer left from gaichi lands [Music] beautiful shot there on the double leg and no metop has his first takedown that's one of his best attacks right he shoots the double leg with his head going on to your left side but ultimately it looks like it's going left but it goes to the right and he ends up on the opposite side and sets you to your hips now how big is exactly where he needs to be in the kc control he'll start to walk justin's legs over to the left and split his knees that'll make justin want to go to his knees to get away or go the opposite way and habib will slide right in the mouth which he is right now trying to punctuate this first round and maybe get a finish an isolated arm [Music] final seconds of round one [Music] strong start for the champion great run by new mega metal [Applause] take a seat take a big breath from me hey look at me he's good he's good hey no i like the feet you got to keep the feet i'm telling you eight more low kicks but don't you get lazy dude he already can't walk on his leg we need to keep him driving from outside right here you see justin gaichy enter with that inside leg kick he has to keep doing this habit with the beautiful jab walking justin gaichi down left hook right hand gaichi lands a beautiful left hook there how beef shoots the double leg gets the corner sets gateshead ends up in the mount went right to the submission great first round by both of these athletes and in the red corner they did put some ice on that left leg of khabib nurmagomedov so we will keep an eye on that and clearly for trevor whitman they want him to attack that furiously right yeah and told him to slow it down right it's the same message we heard in the ferguson fight slow it down you don't need a rush but habib wants this place to be very fast you can see him telling jason let's go let's go let's go that's the second round leg kick for nerma gomez now a combination appear to partially land he's kind of circling into the power of the mega man off he's got to be that one seemed to hurt the champ a little bit you saw how big take a bad step after that leg kick landing wow right into the full mount i mean that was a fantastic transition with a lot of time he's going to go right back to that same position oh he's going triangle here sending the triangle into the arm bar are you trying to choke by the mega man always the eagle rises again he chokes justin gaichi to sleep 29-0 triangle choke finish i mean you never know what he's going to pull out next justin gates he tapped a long time ago rev didn't jump in and he went to sleep but wow what a performance by the number one powerful pound for pound fighter in the world habeebner mega metal and khabib nurmagomedov is immediately resorted to tears and you can be sure bottling up a lot of those emotions here during this fight week without his late father abdullah nurmagomedov and now that the mission is accomplished and the task is done he can exhale and an amazing display from gaijin coming in both of these guys managed by ali abdelaziz who is watching intently somewhere in the world but just too good man too good i mean a lot of people felt like he was a live underdog the best guy that khabib had faced but everywhere just too good everywhere right there is no area where this khabib nurmagomedov can't fight there's no area john and look at this moment as he finally is able to exhale right this fight happens in in october you know his father passed in the summer and he went right into this it was a distraction but now he gets to let it all out well and if khabib nurmagomedov's goal coming in here was to leave as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world beat the interim champion like that he's that man i mean geichi landed some beautiful kicks but once habib got him to the ground they were they were just on a different level right here how big goes to the mount it looked like he was gonna go to an armed triangle but immediately he goes back into the same position as the first round looked like he was going to attack armbar but instead he goes triangle i mean i've seen him do this before in the rest in the practice room but i have never seen him pull it off and the fight didn't know if he would be comfortable enough to try it but right here you see gaity try to pull back then he starts to tap here i don't know how this wasn't seen as he slams our beep down watch his left arm john there's attack there's a second tap you know he tapped four times again and um eventually he passed out and habib keeps that championship uh what a phenomenal performance by the champ and honestly this guy's the number one powerful palm fighter in the world unquestioned after dominating the interim champion like that especially after justin looked as he did against tony ferguson you will not get an argument from me and what a moment for khabib with javier mendez and the rest of his team this is one of the most exceptional professional athletes and human beings that there is out there and you just can't imagine all the pressure that he was under and everything that was going through his mind as the tributes for his late father continue to pour in quite a fighter right there and it's just hard to think about a lightweight solving the puzzle that is khabib nurmagomedov one final time tonight here is ladies and gentlemen referee jason herzog is called a stop to this contest at one minute 34 seconds of round number two declaring the winner by technical submission due to a triangle troke and still undefeated and the usc undisputed lightweight champion of the world cup [Music] oh

Channel: UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship

Views: 31,199,421

Keywords: ufc, ufc 254, free, fight, khabib, nurmagomedov, justin, gaethje, full, fight island, retirement, finish, submission, second, round, title, lightweight, championship, 2020, mma, ultimate fighting championship

Id: MQcXEWPesAw

Length: 11min 55sec (715 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 31 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/TiramisuTime]

The takedown to mount to fake arm-triangle to setup the armbar-triangle to nap time all within 20 seconds might be the slickest grappling sequence we'll ever see in a world title fight ever.

[u/datnighatedkaczynski]

Justin just didn't get to use his ace in the hole, his wrestling.

[u/NoochD]

The pressure and pace Khabib set in the first round was exhausting for Garth, he just kept forcing him to move and stay off the line

[u/nurmagomedovishurt]

DC doesn’t get enough credit for how unbiased his commentary was for this fight. Rogan could take some notes.

[u/sct876]

It seemed Khabib was trying to end the fight as soon as possible, he goes straight for submission rather than the usual ground and pound. Not dragging it out or trying to stand up.

[u/HavoK76]

Justin was tired before even Khabib shot for a td

[u/[deleted]]

Going to miss watching Khabib fight

[u/apasswordlost]

I didn't notice the bandage on Khabib's foot before now. I remember being surprised when they announced, after the fight, that his foot was broken the whole time.

[u/Bapu_Ji]

Oh, you gonna kick my legs? Imma choke you out with them.