UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje Betting Preview

The last event scheduled to take place at Fight Island in 2020 will be one to remember. Arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC today will defend his lightweight title when Khabib Nurmagomedov steps into the ring with Justin Gaethje. Nurmagomedov currently holds the longest active unbeaten streak in MMA with a 28-0 record, making him a formidable favorite per the UFC betting odds.

Be sure to note that this event will take place during the afternoon in the United States. The prelims for UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje will start at 10:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 24. The main event is slated to begin at 2 p.m. ET, and that’s when viewers must purchase the PPV in order to keep watching through ESPN Plus.

UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje Betting Odds

Khabib Nurmagomedov -330

Justin Gaethje +270

It took a long time for The Eagle to come to the UFC. Khabib Nurmagomedov spent the first half of his career fighting exclusively for promotions like M-1 and ProFC in Eastern Europe. He established a reputation as an excellent wrestler with superb cage control, and that led to him dispatching with most of his opponents in the first round before joining UFC.

Khabib was 16-0 before crossing the pond to prove himself in the UFC. He ground down most of his initial opponents, winning four of his first six fights in the promotion by unanimous decision. We saw what he was capable of against Michael Johnson at UFC 205 though, as he secured a submission win with a vicious kimura, eventually earning a title shot.

He claimed the lightweight championship at UFC 223, easily defeating Al Iaquinta after both Tony Ferguson and Max Holloway had to pull out of the fight. Khabib silenced any remaining doubters with a dominant fourth-round submission of Conor McGregor at UFC 229 six months later, and he submitted Dustin Poirier by rear-naked choke in the third round at UFC 242 last September.

Justin Gaethje joined the UFC after compiling a 17-0 record with smaller promotions. He started his time in the UFC off with a bang, earning a second-round TKO of Michael Johnson in July 2017, but he was knocked out by Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier in his next two fights.

We saw Gaethje bounce back to win either Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night with first-round knockouts of James Vick, Edson Barboza, and Donald Cerrone before stepping into the ring with Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida. Gaethje was a moderate underdog by the MMA betting odds, but he stunned everyone by winning a late-round victory.

This will be a very entertaining clash of styles. Khabib might be the best ring-control fighter we’ve seen since Georges St-Pierre, and he will look to constantly pressure Gaethje in order to pin him against the cage. Meanwhile, Gaethje is known for ending fights early, and he will look to stand and trade with Khabib as much as possible to avoid being worn down. Gaethje has much better wrestling skills than you might think for someone that has secured 19 of his 22 wins by knockout, but a first-round knockout at odds of +300 might be a wise play as he will take some chances.

Jared Cannonier -112

Robert Whittaker -108

Cannonier and Whittaker are currently ranked the top two challengers for the UFC middleweight title, and the winner of this bout will receive a title shot against Israel Adesanya.

It took some time for Cannonier to find his groove in the UFC. He was initially a heavyweight before moving to light heavyweight and eventually dropping to middleweight. That decision has paid off though, as he has looked dominant in his last three wins, dispatching of David Branch, Anderson Silva, and Jack Hermansson by TKO within the first two rounds.

As for Whittaker, he is looking to regain the middleweight belt he lost to Adesanya last year at UFC 243. He won the belt against Yoel Romero and successfully defended the title in a hairy split decision before losing it, but he doesn’t have the same finishing power as his counterpart. His last three wins have all gone to the judges.

Alexander Volkov -185

Walt Harris +160

Walt Harris’ return to the ring in May did not go the way anyone wanted. Harris experienced one of the most gut-wrenching ordeals a human being can endure in October 2019, but he lost to Alistair Overeem in his only fight since that point. This heavyweight has incredible power though, and he ended both of his 2019 bouts within one minute.

Alexander Volkov is one of the most experienced heavyweights in the game as this will be his 40^th professional fight.  Volkov has lost two of his last three bouts, but he won an easy unanimous decision victory over a fighter similar to Harris in Greg Hardy last November. If this fight goes the distance, he stands a great chance of winning.

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