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After a year of UFC shows behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the end may be near. UFC 261, scheduled for next weekend, is set to have a full crowd in attendance in Jacksonville, Florida.
Over the past year, we’ve seen plenty of memorable moments inside the UFC’s Octagon during their behind-closed-doors shows, including title changes and retirements.
So with the behind-closed-doors shows hopefully coming to an end soon, here’s a look at the five most memorable moments that this year of strange shows has produced.
#5 Israel Adesanya knocks out Paulo Costa at UFC 253
September’s UFC 253 took place at Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island facility and was headlined by one of the most highly anticipated UFC title fights in some time.
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Israel Adesanya defended his UFC Middleweight crown against Paulo Costa in what stood as one of the few title fights between two unbeaten fighters in UFC history.
With Costa coming off amazing wins over the likes of Yoel Romero and Uriah Hall, he was seen as the biggest threat to Adesanya’s title. And with seven KO’s between them, everyone expected a striking masterclass.
Incredibly, though, the fight turned out to be thoroughly one-sided.
Adesanya was simply too skilled on the feet for Costa to handle, and the Brazilian’s preferred bullying tactics – walking an opponent down and battering them with strikes – was nullified entirely.
In the end, The Last Stylebender ended things with a beautiful second-round combination, showing that he remained one step ahead of the competition at Middleweight – even a proven, unbeaten UFC star like The Eraser.
#4 Justin Gaethje ends Tony Ferguson’s long winning streak at UFC 249
UFC 249 was the first UFC pay-per-view to fall victim to COVID-19.
The show was originally scheduled to take place in Brooklyn, New York, on April 18th, with the main event being Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson for the UFC Lightweight title.
But when the pandemic hit, the show and its main event both fell apart. At first, Nurmagomedov was unable to travel to the US.
And then, after a bizarre attempt to move the show to Lemoore, California, ESPN pulled the plug on the April 18th date entirely.
The show finally took place on May 9th behind closed doors in Jacksonville, Florida, with Justin Gaethje replacing Nurmagomedov against Ferguson in an interim UFC Lightweight title bout.
And incredibly, Ferguson’s lengthy win streak – which dated back to October 2013 and encompassed 12 fights – came crashing to a halt as Gaethje destroyed him with his brutal brand of striking.
This was one of the most memorable beatings in UFC history, as Ferguson somehow absorbed an inhuman amount of punishment from The Highlight before succumbing to a fifth-round TKO.
UFC 249 was the first UFC show for eight weeks – but this wild main event made it worth the wait.
#3 Francis Ngannou wins the UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 260
The torch was passed in the UFC’s Heavyweight division at UFC 260, which took place at the UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas.
The main event saw Francis Ngannou destroy Stipe Miocic, taking his UFC Heavyweight title in the process.
It was the culmination of a run of unbelievable brutality from The Predator, who burst into the UFC in 2015 with a run of six violent finishes.
A loss to Miocic in his first title challenge derailed him momentarily. Still, Ngannou bounced back and put together another run of four vicious knockouts, including two over former UFC champions.
And at UFC 260, he was not to be denied.
Ngannou showed improved takedown defense and patience and eventually destroyed Miocic with a huge left hand in the second round, leaving the champion unconscious.
Only time will tell whether The Predator is now at the beginning of a championship dynasty, but this was a hugely memorable way to begin his title reign. It’s just a pity no fans were there to see it.
#2 Joaquin Buckley’s viral knockout at UFC Fight Island 5
The UFC has seen a great number of memorable knockouts during its run of behind-closed-doors shows, but the one that stands out the most was definitely delivered by Joaquin Buckley.
The Middleweight faced off with Impa Kasanganay in a preliminary bout at UFC Fight Island 5 in October, and to tell the truth, the fight was flying far under the radar for most fans.
However, that changed in the second round when Buckley delivered an insane spinning back kick that sent Kasanganay to the ground, stiff as a corpse.
The kick was more reminiscent of something from WWE than anything we’d seen in the UFC before and instantly went viral across the internet, turning Buckley into a breakout star.
New Mansa followed the knockout up with another flashy finish but has since been derailed by Alessio Di Chirico – who knocked him out with a head kick of his own.
But even if Buckley’s UFC career flames out, he’ll always have this knockout – one of the most memorable in UFC history.
#1 Khabib Nurmagomedov retires at UFC 254
Perhaps the most memorable moment of 2020 in the UFC came after the main event at UFC 254 on Fight Island.
That main event saw Khabib Nurmagomedov turn back yet another challenger to his UFC Lightweight title in the form of interim champion Justin Gaethje.
Gaethje had put together a career-best performance to defeat Tony Ferguson for the interim title at UFC 249, but The Highlight was thoroughly outclassed here.
Khabib pressured him from the off, even landing the better strikes than the challenger in the first round.
And in the second, The Eagle secured a takedown, slapped on a mounted triangle choke and left Gaethje unconscious moments later.
But nobody could’ve predicted what would happen next. In the aftermath of the fight, Nurmagomedov – who moved to 29-0 with the win – announced his retirement, citing a promise made to his mother following the death of his father from COVID-19.
Nobody really expected The Eagle to hang up his gloves, but after plenty of attempts to change his mind, the UFC have now seemingly accepted his decision.
Nurmagomedov will go down as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history – making his retirement the most memorable UFC moment to take place behind closed doors.
