Khabib finishes Poirier to unify title at UFC 242
Dustin Poirier succumbed to the identical destiny as Conor McGregor. And nobody has found out tips on how to take care of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s wrestling, not to mention beat him.
Nurmagomedov defeated Poirier by submission by way of rear-naked choke at 2:06 of the third spherical Saturday in the primary occasion of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. With the victory, Nurmagomedov unified the UFC light-weight title. Poirier got here in because the interim champion.
The bout was vital for Nurmagomedov due to the situation. He’s a religious Muslim from Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and it was his first UFC battle in a Muslim-majority nation. There have been loud chants of “Khabib!” all through the primary occasion and lots of followers had been sporting Nurmagomedov’s signature papakha sheepskin hat.
1 Associated
“The whole lot I’m is due to my father,” he mentioned after the victory. “I wish to say thanks a lot to all of my household, my crew, my brothers, my uncles — we’ve grown up collectively, we’ve all achieved this collectively. MMA is about respect; that is what we confirmed tonight.”
Nurmagomedov is ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound MMA rankings, behind solely mild heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Poirier got here in at No. 9, tied with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
“Put me on No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter subsequent week, as a result of I believe I deserve this,” Nurmagomedov mentioned at his postfight information convention. “As a result of I dominate with all my opponents. I’m undefeated. I believe I deserve some respect.”
Heading into the third spherical Saturday, Nurmagomedov dominated the complete manner together with his wrestling and grappling. He was in management for a complete of eight:54. Nurmagomedov put Poirier on his again within the first spherical and almost received a chokehold at that time. Poirier survived, however he spent almost the complete spherical on the bottom with Nurmagomedov throughout him. Twice, Poirier went for reversals, however Nurmagomedov ended up with much more dominant positions.
Poirier confirmed coronary heart within the second spherical. He landed a giant proper hand and adopted with one other, placing Nurmagomedov on his heels. Poirier chased the champion in an try to rope him right into a brawl. It did not fairly work and the flurry appeared to tire Poirier. Once more, Nurmagomedov took him down and put him within the wrestling grinder. Floor-and-pound opened up a minimize close to Poirier’s left eye.
1:16
Khabib Nurmagomedov says Tony Ferguson deserves the subsequent battle for the title however desires to relaxation first. For extra UFC, join right here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Within the third spherical, Nurmagomedov shot for a takedown towards the cage, and Poirier grabbed onto a good guillotine. He held it for greater than 30 seconds, modified positions and it appeared to be shut, however Nurmagomedov slipped out. The bout was over quickly after. Nurmagomedov received onto Poirier’s again, wrapped his arms round his neck, fell again and Poirier had no selection however to faucet.
“I really feel like I left myself down,” Poirier mentioned. “My profession was arrange for this second. I used to be so ready, I did not minimize any corners. Once I get up I would like to have a look within the mirror; I would like a while to study from this. If this has taught me something, it is to be grateful and gracious. I am sorry if I let anybody down.”
Contained in the cage, Nurmagomedov landed seven takedowns and outstruck Poirier 22-12 in vital strikes. Nurmagomedov has accomplished 59 takedowns in his UFC profession, in comparison with simply two from his opponents. On the bottom, Nurmagomedov has outlanded opponents 379-11.
The 2 fighters respectfully exchanged shirts afterward. Nurmagomedov mentioned he would public sale Poirier’s shirt off and ship the cash again to him for his basis. Nurmagomedov mentioned beforehand that Tony Ferguson, who’s on a 12-fight successful streak, needs to be his subsequent opponent, however Saturday he mentioned he wanted a while to relaxation and ponder.
Nurmagomedov (28-Zero) stays undefeated and has hardly been challenged within the UFC. “The Eagle” has received 12 in a row within the UFC and he and Anderson Silva are the one fighters to begin their UFC careers with that successful streak. Silva went 16-Zero to start his UFC run, a report mark.
Nurmagomedov, 30, had not fought since beating McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018 by way of neck-crank submission within the fourth spherical. Nurmagomedov was suspended 9 months by the Nevada State Athletic Fee (NSAC) for his position within the postfight brawl at UFC 229, which led to the establishment of the interim title.
McGregor, who has additionally not fought since his loss to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, alluded to a doable rematch Saturday evening on social media.
E-book my rematch for Moscow.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 7, 2019
Poirier (25-6, 1 NC) was unbeaten in six straight fights coming in. The Louisiana native defeated Max Holloway to win the UFC interim light-weight title at UFC 236 in April. Poirier, 30, owns victories over the likes of Holloway, Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Anthony Pettis in eight years with the UFC.