With all other professional American sports leagues on hold, we all will become MMA fans Saturday night when UFC 254 takes place in ...
The blockbuster card will be headlined by lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on interim champion Justin Gaethje, with former middleweight king Robert Whittaker facing Jared Cannonier.
UFC 254 will take place on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, October 25.
Two other Aussies are also on the card, with Tai Tuivasa fighting veteran Stefan Struve and Whittaker's training partner Jacob Malkoun fighting Phil Hawse.
Here's everything you need to know about UFC 254.
UFC 254 will be held on Sunday, October 25.
The card will take place on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. It will be the last of five events held on Yas Island, which also hosted a series of events in July as the COVID-19 pandemic threw the UFC's planning into turmoil.
Yep! Whittaker's fight with rising middleweight contender Jared Cannonier had been widely rumoured for weeks, but was made official in late September.
It will be Whittaker's second fight since losing the 185-pound belt to Israel Adesanya last October. He rebounded in July with a thrilling decision win over Darren Till, and still has his sights set on reclaiming the middleweight strap.
If Cannonier wins, he'll be virutally assured of a shot at Adesanya's title. UFC president Dana White and Adesanya himself have both said that's the fight to make.
It remains to be seen whether Whittaker will get another crack at gold if he wins.
Western Sydney heavyweight Tai Tuivasa is back in action taking on 23-fight UFC veteran Stefan Struve.
It will likely be Tuivasa's last chance to save his UFC career after losing three fights in succession to Junior dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov and Sergey Spivak.
Now 32, Struve debuted in the UFC in 2009 and is 1-4 in his last five bouts, going down to Alexander Volkov, Andrei Arlovski, Marcin Tybura and Ben Rothwell.
One of Whittaker's training partners, Jacob Malkoun, will make his UFC debut on the prelims.
Malkoun travelled to Fight Island with The Reaper in July and was reportedly ready to step in on late notice if another middleweight pulled out.
He now gets his opportunity in the UFC against Phil Hawse, who will also be making his debut after first coming to prominence on Dana White's Contender Series.
Lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje
Middleweight Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier
Lightweight Islam Makhachev vs Rafael dos Anjos
Light Heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev vs Ion Cuțelaba
Heavyweight Stefan Struve vs Tai Tuivasa
Middleweight Jacob Malkoun vs Phil Hawes
Bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov vs Sergey Morozov
In the main event, it's no surprise to see Khabib Nurmagomedov as a handy favourite, paying $1.37 to Justin Gaethje's $3.02.
Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker opened at $2 to Jared Cannonier's $1.80.
Whittaker is 21-5 as a professional and is 12-3 in the UFC.
His loss to Adesanya was his first defeat at 186-pounds, with his two previous losses coming at welterweight to Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson and Court McGee.
His scalps include Uriah Hall, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza, Yoel Romero (twice) and Till.
Cannonier has a 13-4 professional record, and is 6-4 in the UFC.
One of his UFC defeats came at heavyweight, before he lost three times at light heavyweight. Cannonier is on a three-fight win-streak since dropping down to middleweight.
His wins at 185 pounds are stoppage wins, with David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson his victims.
Khabib's record is a perfect 28-0 with 18 stoppages and 10 decisions.
He's beaten a who's who at lightweight in the UFC, including Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Rafael dos Anjos and Edson Barboza.
One of the most exciting fighters in the world today, Gaethje is 22-2 in the pro ranks, and is 5-2 in the UFC since signing from World Series of Fighting in 2017.
After beating Michael Johnson in the 2017 Fight of the Year, Gaethje lost twice in entertaining bouts to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier.
Since then, he's beaten James Vick, Edson Barboza, Donald Cerrone and Tony Ferguson.
His win over Ferguson saw him claim the interim lightweight belt, and every one of his UFC fights have earned him a performance bonus.
After all the talk and bluster in the build-up, Israel Adesanya was levels above Paulo Costa at UFC 253.
The Kiwi-Nigerian systematically broke Costa down, earning a knockout with a minute left in the second round.