UFC 254 Scorecards: 2 Judges Had Justin Gaethje Winning First Round
Justin Gaethje won the first round against Khabib Nurmagomedov — at least, according to two of the three judges.
Gaethje took on Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title unification fight that headlined UFC 254 on Saturday. Many felt “The Highlight” had the skillset to defeat Nurmagomedov given the power he possessed as well as his wrestling credentials.
However, it was no match for Nurmagomedov who overwhelmed Gaethje with his pressure and volume before taking him down and eventually submitting him with a triangle choke in the second round.
And while Gaethje did perform admirably in the first round as he kept his distance, displayed good footwork and did connect with a few strikes, he was still second best in most observers’ eyes in a round that ended with Nurmagomedov putting him on the ground.
Despite that, two of the three judges scored the first round in favor of Gaethje much to many people’s surprise.
You can view the scorecards below:
That means Nurmagomedov has officially lost a second round in his UFC career.
The only other round he had lost on a scorecard was the third round of his UFC 229 fight with Conor McGregor with all three judges scoring that frame to the Irishman.
In the end, it didn’t matter as Nurmagomedov would go on to submit both fighters and ultimately remain undefeated.
What do you think of these scorecards? Did you score the first round to Gaethje as well?
