UFC 254 poster revealed for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje on Oct. 24

UFC 253 is in the books and what a night of fights that was. While the highly anticipated Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa bout didn’t end up living up to the “Fight of the Year” hype (watch highlights), UFC President, Dana White, was selling, it was still a treat to see “Last Stylebender” dispatch such a dangerous foe with ease.

Next up: UFC 254 on Oct. 24, 2020, also on “Fight Island.” And it also features a “Fight of the Year” contender in Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje. And for those of you afraid that Khabib may not make it into the cage, consider this: Nurmagomedov is already in Abu Dhabi, safely inside the “Fight Island” bubble. Eagle-eyed fans may have noted his quiet presence in the corner of Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 253.

So with that concern lightened, let’s get hyped with a new poster released for the event by UFC. It’s a beaut:

Also featured on the card (but not the poster) is an important Middleweight fight with serious title implications between former champ Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. Cannonier was the man 185-pound champ Israel Adesanya talked up as his next challenger after his routing of Costa ... but first Jared will have to get past “Bobby Knuckles.”

UFC 254’s confirmed card as it stands:

• Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje
• Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier
• Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris
• Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael dos Anjos
• Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lauren Murphy
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba

Also reportedly on the card, but still in a strange limbo for some reason:

• Stefan Struve vs. Tai Taivasa
• Jacob Malkoun vs. Phil Hawes
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozov
• Da Un Jung vs. Sam Alvey
• Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

As always in these crazy times, card is subject to change. Keep it locked to MMAmania.com for all the updates, confirmations, and hopefully not too many heart-rending removals coming into this awesome card.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 254 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN 2/ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 254: “Khabib vs. Gaethje” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.