The event proceeded with local timing for
prime time hours. The main card began at 10:00 pm (October 24) local time in Abu Dhabi, with a full preliminary card beginning at approximately 6:15 pm
Gulf Standard Time. A
UFC Lightweight Championship unification bout between current champion
Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champion
Justin Gaethje (also former
WSOF Lightweight Champion) served as the event headliner. The bout was briefly linked to
UFC 253, but the date did not materialize and instead took place four weeks later. On September 17, the UFC announced the signing of former three-time
Bellator Lightweight World Champion Michael Chandler, who served as backup and a potential replacement for this fight. held a perfect 28–0 record leading into the event. A middleweight bout between former
UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker and
Jared Cannonier was initially scheduled to take place at
UFC 248 in March. However, Whittaker pulled out for personal reasons. The pairing was rescheduled for this event. Despite never being officially announced, a featherweight bout between
The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner
Yair Rodríguez and
Zabit Magomedsharipov was expected to take place at the event. The pairing had been scheduled on two previous occasions, first at
UFC 228 in September 2018 and then at
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić in August. However, Rodríguez pulled out of both events with injury.
Magomed Ankalaev and
Ion Cuțelaba first met in a light heavyweight bout at
UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo, where Ankalaev won via controversial knockout. Due to the controversy of the stoppage, the UFC booked the rematch for
UFC 249, on its original April 18 date. However, Ankalaev was forced to pull out of the event due to
travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were later rebooked for
UFC 252, but Cuțelaba then pulled out after testing positive for COVID-19 and the bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić. Cuțelaba tested positive yet again on the day of the event, resulting in another cancellation of this fight. In turn, they were rescheduled for a third time and met at this event. Promotional newcomer Isi Fitikefu weighed in as an alternate for this bout.
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos was expected to face
Shavkat Rakhmonov in a welterweight bout at the event. However, dos Santos pulled out in late September due to a knee injury that would require surgery. He was replaced by
Alex Oliveira. A lightweight bout between former champion
Rafael dos Anjos and
Islam Makhachev was expected to take place at the event. However, it was announced on October 8 that dos Anjos
tested positive for COVID-19 and was pulled from the bout. A replacement could not be found and Makhachev was also removed from the event. The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for November 14 at
UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos.
Cynthia Calvillo and former
Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Lauren Murphy were scheduled to meet in a women's flyweight bout at the event. However, Calvillo withdrew from the bout on October 15 after testing positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by promotional newcomer Liliya Shakirova. A bantamweight bout between
Umar Nurmagomedov and
Sergey Morozov was expected to take place at the event. However, it was announced on October 18 that Nurmagomedov had been hospitalized due to an illness and the bout was scrapped. Morozov remained as an alternate for the catchweight bout of 140 pounds between
Nathaniel Wood and
Casey Kenney. At the weigh-ins,
Alex Oliveira and
Joel Álvarez missed weight for their respective bouts. Oliveira weighed in at 173 pounds, two pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. Álvarez weighed in at 159.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. Both of their bouts proceeded at catchweight and they were each fined 20% and 30% of their individual purses respectively, which went to their opponents Shavkat Rakhmonov and
Alexander Yakovlev. ==Results==