Cris Cyborg successfully defended her women’s featherweight championship against Holly Holm to close out UFC 219 on Saturday night in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
All three judges scored the fight for Cyborg, giving the 32-year-old her fourth victory in the UFC and the 19th win of her career.
In the other headlining fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated Edson Barboza in a unanimous decision to further cement himself as one of the most dangerous contenders in the UFC lightweight division.
Below are the full results from the card.
UFC 219 Results
Main Card
Cris Cyborg def. Holly Holm, unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Edson Barboza, unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
Dan Hooker def. Marc Diakiese, submission (Round 3, 0:42)
Carla Esparza def. Cynthia Calvillo, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Neil Magny def. Carlos Condit, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Khalil Rountree, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Myles Jury def. Rick Glenn, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marvin Vettori vs. Omari Akhmedov, majority draw (28-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Matheus Nicolau def. Louis Smolka, unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
Tim Elliott def. Mark De La Rosa, submission (Round 2, 1:41)
Holm’s blueprint against Cyborg was clear. She wasn’t going to fight fire with fire and instead waited for the Brazilian to try to go on the offensive. In addition, Cyborg had gone past the third round just once in her career, so Holm wanted the fight to get into the later rounds, when she might be able to capitalize on a fatigued Cyborg.
Cyborg largely neutralized Holm’s strategy by displaying an impressive level of technique to gain an edge on Holm. Because 16 of her victories came via knockout, it’s easy to forget how good of a fighter Cyborg is. She’s incredibly strong and equally as skilled in the Octagon, and that is a nearly impossible combination for opponents to overcome.
While this was the toughest test Cyborg has faced in MMA, it also felt somewhat like she didn’t get pushed. Holm did the best she could after moving up a weight class, but she wasn’t good enough to topple the champion.
Former Bellator commentator Jimmy Smith thought Cyborg appeared largely unfazed despite getting bloodied during the fight:
Cyborg’s dominance may present a conundrum for the UFC. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto highlighted what is a dearth of serious challengers in the women’s featherweight division:
Cyborg is a massive star and a fantastic fighter, but she needs to have compelling opponents to continue drawing interest from fans. The UFC may have a difficult time figuring out a way to maximize her presence in the immediate future before more women can establish themselves in the division.
Nurmagomedov prevailed in dominant fashion over Barboza, as evidenced by the judges’ final scores. A brief sequence in the third round essentially summed up the fight. Barboza landed what might’ve been an effective spinning heel kick in another situation. Nurmagomedov, however, shrugged it off like it was nothing.
The UFC shared a replay of the moment:
Former UFC star Brendan Schaub didn’t envy Barboza:
The numbers speak for themselves. According to UFC.com, Nurmagomedov connected with 154 total punches, 89 of which were significant strikes. Barboza, by comparison, got 25 significant strikes in on Nurmagomedov.
The 29-year-old Russian more than lived up to the hype in Las Vegas, and the question now becomes whether he gets the fight with either lightweight champion Conor McGregor or interim champ Tony Ferguson.
Nurmagomedov was raring to go immediately after taking down Barboza.
“If UFC give me one hour rest, I can fight Conor or Tony, that’s no problem; I feel great,” he said, per MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta.
Considering he has fought just three times since defeating Rafael dos Anjos in April 2014, Nurmagomedov may need another win or two to pad his total before a date with McGregor or Ferguson becomes a reality. With that said, it’s seemingly only a matter of time before Nurmagomedov gets a shot at the lightweight belt.
The main card opened with Carlos Condit’s first fight in the Octagon in over a year. His rust showed a bit as Neil Magny was the superior fighter. Condit looked good in the early round but ceded the advantage to Magny over the final two.
Not only was Magny the better striker, but he also had a great game plan to repel Condit’s attacks. According to UFC.com, Magny landed three more significant strikes (53) than Condit (50) and registered two takedowns to Condit’s zero.
MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall lamented what he believes is a lack of respect granted to Magny:
By beating Condit, the 30-year-old may be able to receive the marquee welterweight fight that has eluded him so far.
Condit, on the other hand, may have to seriously ponder his future in mixed martial arts. At 33 years old, he’s not necessarily over the hill, but he has lost six of his last eight fights. It’s hard to see how he’ll be able to climb up the welterweight rankings anytime soon, which undoubtedly hinders his prospective matchups in the UFC.
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