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Two judges of the three judges scoring UFC 254's lightweight championship main event had Justin Gaethje winning the opening round over Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In a tweet posted by UFC News, judges Ben Cartlidge and Sal D'Amato had scored the first round 10-9 for challenger Gaethje, while judge Derek Cleary had 10-9 for defending champion Nurmagomedov.
Gaethje, who came in as the interim lightweight titleholder, came out aggressive and landed some good shots on Nurmagomedov. Ultimately however, the Russian grappling wizard managed to take the action to the ground and take over from there.
Once on the ground, Nurmagomedov was simply unstoppable as he worked his way to a deep triangle choke that rendered Gaethje unconscious in just a minute and 34 seconds of action in round number 2.
With the submission win, Nurmagomedov successfully retained his UFC Lightweight Championship and improved his amazing unbeaten record to 29-0.
Who's in line for the UFC Lightweight Championship after Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement?
After his masterful first-round submission win over Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254, reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov shocked the world by announcing his retirement.
"The Eagle", who has held the UFC's 155-pound title since 2018, will now seemingly leave the sport with an unblemished record in 29 professional bouts. More importantly, he leaves the UFC's lightweight division without a champion.
So who could be Khabib Nurmagomedov's successor?
Obviously, Gaethje is still in the mix and could find himself back in the title picture after a couple of wins.
#2 ranked Dustin Poirier and # 4 ranked Conor McGregor - who have been linked to a possible bout in January - are also possible future kings of the lightweight division.
#3 ranked Tony Ferguson, who has been making some noise on social media as of late, is also a legitimate contender.
