7:53 AM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi Khabib Nurmagomedov hadn’t even left the Octagon on Saturday before the debate began. Was he retiring as MMA’s greatest of all time? Former UFC two-weight champion Daniel Cormier, who was

6:27 PM ET Jeff WagenheimESPN Khabib Nurmagomedov closed out his MMA career in style Saturday with a victory and, according to his teammate, an act of compassion. Nurmagomedov successfully defended his UFC lightweight championship by finishing Justin Gaethje with a second-round triangle. He used that submission rather than the armbar he initially had set up,

6:31 PM ET There were so many questions surrounding Khabib Nurmagomedov heading into Saturday’s title fight, his first without his late father, Abdulmanap. Would he be as dominant? Would he care as much? Would he be too emotional? Would he win? In the end, Nurmagomedov looked better than ever. That’s not hyperbole. That’s fact. He

12:19 PM ET The UFC lightweight division, regarded by many as the promotion’s most competitive division, has suddenly become wide open with the retirement of champion Khabib Nurmagomedov this past Saturday. But how will the UFC determine a new champ at 155 pounds? There are at least five fighters who can make a case for

9:21 PM ET Jeff Wagenheim The tears flowed immediately. Khabib Nurmagomedov had just let go of the triangle choke he used to render Justin Gaethje unconscious, and all that was left for the UFC lightweight champion was a different release, one of a painfully personal nature. As medical staff moved in to attend to Gaethje

3:57 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s sudden retirement from mixed martial arts Saturday has left a massive void in the sport in general, and a very specific one in the lightweight division. The top of the 155-pound division goes from a dominant champion in his prime, to a vacant seat with no obvious heir. The UFC

4:35 PM ET Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is right back at the top of the division — and some would say he never left. Whittaker (22-5) defeated Jared Cannonier (13-5) via unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 254 on Saturday on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is Whittaker’s

5:09 PM ET Khabib Nurmagomedov kneeled down and put his head in his hands. Tears streamed from his eyes. The burden he had been carrying for the last three months had been released. The typically stoic champion’s emotions got the better of him. Nurmagomedov, one of the best fighters in mixed-martial-arts history, submitted Justin Gaethje

5:44 PM ET Saturday’s UFC main event was predictable in a way, in that the undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov won. What happened next was not. Nurmagomedov (29-0) announced his official retirement from mixed martial arts, following the death of his father, Abdulmanap, in July. He revealed his mother did not even want him to compete

9:22 AM ET UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will look to extend his perfect record to 29-0 against Justin Gaethje on Saturday in the main event of UFC 254 on Fight Island, and the circumstances will be much different than he has ever faced before. The 32-year-old will compete in Abu Dhabi for the first