Let’s make something very clear.
The two best fighters in the world are UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and UFC Light Heavyweight king Jon Jones, and after Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, I’m beginning to believe the former has just as much right to claim he is No. 1 on the planet.
In the UFC 242 main event, Nurmagomedov dominated interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier en route to a third-round submission victory. The final maneuver was a deeply sunk-in rear-naked choke that Poirier knew he could not escape. He quickly tapped out to keep from going unconscious. Here is a look at the finish:
Here is how the MMA community reacted to the finish:
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Poirier deserves credit for his effort. After being completely neutralized with a takedown in the first round, he came out more aggressive in the second frame. He landed some shots, but none of them had a serious effect on Nurmagomedov, and ultimately the champion would secure another takedown to end the round on top.
In the third, Poirier went for broke.
Nurmagomedov shot for a takedown and Poirier tried to lock in a guillotine. It was an excellent effort and looked to be deep. However, Nurmagomedov would show off his submission defense by maneuvering his hips until he could release the hold.
Once he popped his head free, you had to know it would be all downhill for Poirier. Sucking air in an effort to recover from the energy expended during his last-ditch effort, Poirier was primed to be finished. Nurmagomedov took his back, soften him up with hooks from the back position and secured the definitive choke.
Poirier had no choice but to tap out. The win gives Nurmagomedov three successful title defenses, $50,000 bonus, and takes away Poirier’s interim tag. The next match for Nurmagomedov should be a battle with Tony Ferguson. during the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White seemed to confirm that would be next for the dominant Dagestani champion.
For now, we should be entertaining some legitimate discussions about Nurmagomedov and his status as the G.O.A.T.
Paul Felder Wins Questionable Decision Over Edson Barboza
The co-main event was an excellent fight, but I’m not sure the right man got the decision. In a rematch, Felder avenged his previous loss to Barboza with a split-decision win.
One judge scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Barboza, but the other two judges scored it for Felder, 29-28 and 30-27. The latter scorecard is the one that is egregious.
Barboza seemed to completely control the first round with leg and body kicks, and he also likely broke Felder’s nose with a punch. The fight stats showed he outlanded Felder in the round, and quite honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone scoring the frame for the Irish Dragon.
The second round was close with Barboza landing one more significant strike than Felder, and also securing a takedown while maintaining some decent top control. Felder did some good work on the feet and even opened up a cut from the bottom while he was down, but I still gave the round to Barboza.
In the third, Felder was clearly the fresher of the two and he had Barboza backing up the entire round. He outlanded the Brazilian by double digit strikes, and despite being taken down momentarily at the end of the round, Felder was in control.
Based on that, I saw the fight for Barboza 29-28. Unfortunately for Barboza, two of the judges didn’t agree, and now he finds himself on a two-fight losing streak. Meanwhile, Felder has now won two in a row. A third fight wouldn’t be a bad idea, but we’ll see where things go for both fighters.
Here is a look at all of the results from Abu Dhabi.
Main Card
- Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Dustin Poirier via submission (RNC) (R3, 2:06) – POTN
- Paul Felder def. Edson Barboza via SD (30-27, 29-28, 27-30)
- Islam Makhachev def. Davi Ramos via UD (29-27, 30-26×2)
- Curtis Blaydes def. Shamil Abdurakhimov via second-round TKO (2:22)
- Diego Ferreira def. Mairbek Taisumov via UD (29-28×2, 29-27)
Undercard
- Joanne Calderwood def. Andrea Lee via SD (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
- Zubaira Tukhogov vs. Lerone Murphy – split draw – (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
- Sarah Moras def. Liana Jojua via third-round TKO (2:26)
- Ottman Azaitar def. Teemu Packalen via first-round KO (3:31) – POTN
- Belal Muhammad def. Takashi Sato via submission (RNC) (R3, 1:55) – POTN
- Muslim Salikhov def. Nordine Taleb via first-round KO (4:26) – POTN
- Omari Akhmedov def. Zak Cummings via UD (30-27 x2, 29-28)
- Don Madge def. Fares Ziam via UD (30-27 x2, 29-28)
