Although Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn't been inside the UFC octagon in 13 months, the life and mind of the unbeaten lightweight champion have been fully occupied. He returns to the cage on Saturday night to face interim champion Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi. But Nurmagomedov had already earned the respect of fighters like Gaethje (22-2), who see the champion's discipline and determination as examples. With heavy European and Asian interest in Nurmagomedov, the promotion scheduled UFC 254 for those audiences' prime-time viewing hours, rather than North America. Gaethje realizes his good fortune to be in this big-money bout against arguably the best lightweight in MMA history.

Source: Fox News October 23, 2020 06:11 UTC