UFC 254 Live Stream – Watch FREE Online. UFC 254: Khabib vs Gaethje is an upcoming mixed martial arts event organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on October 24, 2020, and at the location is Flash Forum, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Khabib Nurmagomedov sees two main advantages he has over UFC 254 opponent Justin Gaethje that will prove to be the X factors en route to victory.
At a virtual UFC 254 pre-fight news conference Thursday, the UFC lightweight champion opened up on the game plan he is hoping to establish against Gaethje and where he sees himself having the biggest advantages.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a chess match, you know?” Nurmagomedov said. “I think my fight IQ is much better than Justin Gaethje’s. He’s just a tough guy. He likes fighting. He likes blood, you know? He’s like a real warrior. But when we talk about fighting IQ, I think my fighting IQ is much better than his, you know?”
Event: UFC 254: Khabib vs Gaethje
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020 @ 2:00 pm ET
Location: Flash Forum, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Broadcast: ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV), ESPN
Watch ESPN+
How To Watch UFC 254 Online In The U.S.
The entire UFC 254 fight card is a pay-per-view event, and due to ESPN’s tight relationship with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, you’ll need ESPN+ if you want to live stream UFC 254 (this premium streaming platform is currently the only way to watch UFC pay-per-views). The good news is that ESPN+ is cheap at just $5 per month or $50 per year, and along with UFC events, your ESPN+ membership gives you access to a huge spread of other sports content. This bundle offer sweetens the deal, letting you score a year’s worth of ESPN+ along with the UFC 254 PPV package for just $85 — $30 less than the price of buying them separately.
UFC 254 Fight Card
- Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) -280 vs. Justin Gaethje (ic) +230, lightweight championship
- Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier, middleweights
- Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris, heavyweights
- Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael dos Anjos, lightweights
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lauren Murphy, women’s flyweights
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba, light heavyweights
- Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa, heavyweights
- Jacob Malkoun vs. Phillip Hawes, middleweights
- Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozov, bantamweights
Nurmagomedov, 32, attributed much of Gaethje’s MMA-specific intellect to on-the-spot instructions he receives from his longtime coach, Trevor Wittman. Nurmagomedov praised Wittman, bringing up his corner work in Gaethje’s UFC 249 win against Tony Ferguson.
“I think Justin, he has a very good coach – just my opinion,” Nurmagomedov said. “He has a great coach. If you can watch his last fight with Tony Ferguson, having cornered him, (Wittman) gave him very good advice. I think he has a very good and very great coach. Of course, Justin can fight. He can go deep. He has heart. But if you’re talking about fighting IQ, I think I have much better than him.”
Besides fight-centric intelligence, Nurmagomedov also plans to top Gaethje in the cardio department. Both fighters have been known to find success later in fights, but Nurmagomedov plans to overbear Gaethje so much he struggles when and if the fight reaches that point.
“I’m going to try wrestling with him,” Nurmagomedov said. “If he’s going to defend my takedown one time, I’m going to try second, third, (all the way to) 100 times. Of course, I’m going to box with him and kick with him. It’s going to be kickboxing and wrestling – like, mixed. My goal is to make him tired. I’m going to make him tired. This is my goal. Maybe in Round No. 3 or Round No. 4, my plan is (to) finish him.”
UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje is a pay-per-view event airing exclusively via ESPN+, so if you’ve yet to sign up for this premium sports streaming service, now’s a perfect time: This bundle deal lets you score a year’s subscription to ESPN+ along with the UFC 254 PPV for just $85 right now (a 25% discount).