Touted UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov finally answered the questions about his health by thoroughly destroying top striker Edson Barboza (full highlights here) in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) UFC 219 from Las Vegas. It a refreshing site to see for many MMA fans, as the uncrowned champion at 155 pounds had […]
Touted UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov finally answered the questions about his health by thoroughly destroying top striker Edson Barboza (full highlights here) in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) UFC 219 from Las Vegas.
It a refreshing site to see for many MMA fans, as the uncrowned champion at 155 pounds had seen much of the previous three years dissipate due to a long streak of unfortunate injuries followed by a botched weight cut heading into his interim title bout with Tony Ferguson at March’s UFC 209.
After the bout, “The Eagle” proclaimed he would fight both Ferguson and official champion Conor McGregor on the same night if the UFC allowed, something that obviously won’t be coming true. So in terms of actually possible goals, Nurmagomedov offered a detailed plan about how he’s going to make up for time lost. With his weight cutting issues supposedly a thing of the past, Khabib said he’s now the healthiest he’s ever been, and that has him prepared to fight three times next year:
“I never have problem with weight cut,” Nurmagomedov said. “My problem, my number one enemy is injuries because I train so hard. I’m not training like other UFC fighters. I’m training so hard and my training partners know, my close people know about this, and the last couple of years I tried to change something and I think I do this very well and I changed a lot of things, but I never have problem with weight cut. Now I’m healthy. For this camp, I’m in my healthiest period ever, like everywhere I’m healthy, inside, outside, knees, back, everything is healthy and when I begin this training camp I feel good and this is why I make weight.
“When I’m healthy, I always make weight, but now I hope next year I’m gonna stay busy, stay healthy, no injuries, and I want to fight April, May, before Ramadan. After, I want to fight September and I want to fight December. This is my plan. I want to fight in 2018, three times.”
After having competed only three times since defeating Rafael dos Anjos in April 2014, fighting three times in one calendar seems quite ambitious based on the injury rate at his American Kickboxing Academy gym.
But Khabib is healthy now, and that’s all we can go off of. He also looks more dominant and smothering than ever, prompting talk that he may be the most fearsome 155-pound fighter in MMA despite two champions technically being ranked above him.
Do you believe he will easily top McGregor and/or Ferguson? Will he actually be healthy enough to fight either one of them?
Fifteen minutes wasn’t enough for Khabib Nurmagomedov Saturday at UFC 219.
In the wake of his savage, three-round beating of Edson Barboza at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov said he was ready to go again.
With the afterglow of his lopsided un…
Fifteen minutes wasn’t enough for Khabib Nurmagomedov Saturday at UFC 219.
In the wake of his savage, three-round beating of Edson Barboza at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov said he was ready to go again.
With the afterglow of his lopsided unanimous-decision win (30-25, 30-25, 30-24) still hanging in the air, the 29-year-old Dagestan, Russia, native said he wanted fights with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and interim champ Tony Ferguson.
Both of them.
In one night.
“Conor and Tony are nothing,” Nurmagomedov said in the cage and later in a UFC release. “It does not matter to me which one I get next. If the UFC will allow me, I will fight them both in the same night.”
Perhaps Nurmagomedov just wanted to make up for lost time.
Owing to a laundry list of injuries, he’s fought in the Octagon only three times during the past three-and-a-half years. After making the fourth-ranked Barboza look like little more than a tune-up opponent in their co-main event bout, he was right to call out the top dogs at 155 pounds—and as quickly as he can get his hands on them.
The days of the UFC staging single-night, multi-fight tournaments are long gone. For Nurmagomedov to get his wish of a two-for-one special against McGregor and Ferguson, he would likely need a time machine.
Fact is, considering his injury history and what will be at stake, The Eagle would be lucky to land a future bout with either of the UFC’s lightweight champions.
Especially McGregor, who spent 2017 establishing himself as one of the biggest draws in combat sports.
After the beating he put on Barboza, Nurmagomedov represents that least desirable equation in all of MMA: the toughest matchup for the lowest possible financial return. On top of that, agreeing to a bout with him comes with a high risk that things will fall apart at the last possible minute.
Both these factors weigh heavily on a man like McGregor, who has previously made it clear he only wants to fight people he knows will show up. Every step of the way in his UFC career, the bombastic Irishman has carefully plotted a course from one high-exposure, big-money fight to the next.
Each step has been bigger than the last, culminating with McGregor’s boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August 2017. That fight became one of the biggest-selling attractions in the history of pay-per-view and may have netted McGregor as much as $100 million.
With that kind of money in the bank, UFC President Dana White has routinely said he has no idea whether McGregor will fight again. Though the man himself contends his next bout will be in MMA, notions of boxing matches against Manny Pacquiao or Paulie Malignaggi continue to swirl.
Given how McGregor views the world and the rarefied position he enjoys, why would he take the risk of a fight against Nurmagomedov?
He wouldn’t.
Or rather, he shouldn’t.
Even if he does return to the UFC, it would be more prudent for McGregor to first take on Ferguson in a unification bout. On top of that, he could complete his trilogy with Nate Diaz or hold out for a superfight against someone like Georges St-Pierre.
Of all the fights on the table, Nurmagomedov would likely be the smallest payday. There’s also the small matter that the Russian’s hard-nosed, grappling-based style would pose significant challenges for McGregor’s stand-up oriented game.
Nurmagomedov has a tendency to get overly aggressive on the feet and leave himself open to counters. That could give McGregor an opportunity to land one of his vaunted left-handed power shots. If he can’t KO Nurmagomedov early, however, their meeting would likely turn into the sort of bout McGregor should avoid at all costs.
That is, a slow and methodical destruction of the legend he’s worked so hard to build.
Take the Barboza fight for a prime example of how that could happen.
The Brazilian fighter had some solid moments in the early going at UFC 219, peppering Nurmagomedov’s lead leg with hard, low kicks and sticking him with some punching combinations. But Nurmagomedov merely waded through all of it, latched on to Barboza’s legs and dragged him to the mat.
After that, it was rinse and repeat for the next 14 minutes.
Nurmagomedov spent nearly every remaining moment brutalizing Barboza with his trademark ground-and-pound offense. His relentless takedowns sucked the steam out of Barboza’s flashy, kick-heavy offense, and then Nurmagomedov set about systematically battering every part of his opponent’s body with his fists, knees and elbows.
Or at least that’s how it seemed.
It was an impressive—sometimes ugly—display, and the fight could have been stopped long before going to the judges. When the smoke cleared, Nurmagomedov had reasserted his position as perhaps the scariest lightweight in the world.
The victory ran Nurmagomedov’s overall record to 25-0 and made it nine wins in a row in the UFC. Even in the uber-competitive lightweight division, his relentless grappling and ferocious ground-and-pound stand out.
His ice-cold demeanor and penchant for over-the-top one-liners have also made him reasonably popular with the UFC’s hardcore fanbase, but his inactivity has prevented him from making a dent among casual fans.
Add it all up, and there doesn’t seem to be much compelling McGregor to fight Nurmagomedov.
The only reason for McGregor to do it would be a sudden commitment to defending his title against all comers. Since winning the UFC’s featherweight crown in December 2015, McGregor has yet to defend a championship inside the Octagon. He’s always had bigger challenges attracting his attention.
Then again, if there’s a wild card in all this, it’s McGregor himself.
Predicting The Notorious’ next move has always been impossible. In fact, it has long been rumored McGregor is interested in a fight versus Nurmagomedov—if it could go down as an over-the-top spectacle in Russia.
If the UFC could put together a compelling financial package, perhaps it would be enough to turn McGregor’s money-conscious head.
No matter what, a fight against Nurmagomedov would be a big risk and potentially the biggest challenge of McGregor’s MMA career.
In order for it to be worth it, something in the equation would likely have to change.
Fresh off of his viscerally satisfying three-round destruction of top-ranked striking machine Edson Barboza in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) from Las Vegas, Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t messing around making his next intention known. Perhaps looking to make up for lost time due to the streak of injuries that held him […]
Fresh off of his viscerally satisfying three-round destruction of top-ranked striking machine Edson Barboza in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., December 30, 2017) from Las Vegas, Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t messing around making his next intention known.
Perhaps looking to make up for lost time due to the streak of injuries that held him to three fights in three-and-a-half years, ‘The Eagle’ told reporters at the post-fight press conference that he was sick of the top lightweights – namely champion Conor McGregor and interim champion Tony Ferguson – talking about him while he was hurt and avoiding him when he was actually healthy like he clearly is now:
“When I’m injured, these guys talk. When I’m here, where are they?”
The 25-0 grappling sensation has obviously appeared to be nothing short of utterly dominant in his UFC tenure, so much so that it’s become apparent the only things that seem able to beat him are his own medical problems.
He’s now past those, at least for now, and he revealed he’s planning on fighting three times next year. With that goal known, Khabib said he would fight both McGregor and Ferguson on the same night if they allowed it:
“If UFC approves, I’ll fight both Conor and Tony in the same night. Why not? I swear, this is no joke.”
The nonstop Dagestani wrestler has been scheduled to fight Ferguson several times before, with injuries to one fighter or another calling the bout off to the point it seems like it would never happen because it just wasn’t meant to. But that theory could easily be tested yet again because it’s unknown if or when McGregor will actually return to MMA and defend the title.
That could make Ferguson vs. Khabib the final step in earning a ticket to face McGregor, but with the outspoken Irishman on vacation enjoying his $100 million payday for boxing Floyd Mayweather, they – and every other UFC fighter – may never get that chance again.
In the co-main event of last night’s (Sat. December 30, 2017) UFC 219 pay-per-view (PPV) event, Khabib Nurmagomedov took on striking specialist Edson Barboza. “The Eagle” came into the fight unbeaten in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career with a record of 24-0. He hadn’t competed inside the Octagon since November of 2016 when he […]
In the co-main event of last night’s (Sat. December 30, 2017) UFC 219 pay-per-view (PPV) event, Khabib Nurmagomedov took on striking specialist Edson Barboza.
“The Eagle” came into the fight unbeaten in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career with a record of 24-0. He hadn’t competed inside the Octagon since November of 2016 when he defeated Michael Johnson via submission. The dominant Russian grappler looked to silence any doubters he had left with a win over one of the best strikers the 155-pound division has ever seen.
Barboza came into the event on a three-fight win streak which included an amazing flying knee knockout this past March over Beneil Dariush. He hoped to put the first blemish on Nurmagomedov’s career.
From the opening bell Nurmagomedov was extremely dominant inside the cage. His pressure was relentless and he landed heavy shots on the Brazilian that opened up takedown opportunities. Once on the ground Nurmagomedov smothered Barboza with devastating ground-and-pound, battering the knockout specialist very badly.
In the end, Nurmagomedov took home a very lopsided unanimous decision win as Barboza was able to survive to the final horn.
You can check out some highlights from the fight here below:
UFC 219 went down tonight (Saturday, December 30, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, headlined by the women’s featherweight title fight between champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino and former bantamweight queen Holly Holm. Cyborg won a unanimous decision, going the 25-minute distance for the first time in her career, behind harder, cleaner strikes. […]
UFC 219 went down tonight (Saturday, December 30, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, headlined by the women’s featherweight title fight between champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino and former bantamweight queen Holly Holm. Cyborg won a unanimous decision, going the 25-minute distance for the first time in her career, behind harder, cleaner strikes. Holm gave a valiant effort but failed to ever threaten Cyborg.
The co-main event saw the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov lock horns with the ever-dangerous Edson Barboza in a de facto #1 contender matchup at lightweight. “The Eagle” staked his claim once more as the number-one contender and one of the scariest individuals in MMA with his brutal dismantling of Barboza. The Brazilian survived to see the final bell, but it seemed like Khabib took his foot off the gas after smashing Barboza into the canvas early. Once he got the first takedown, Khabib compromised Barboza for the rest of the fight with absolutely savage ground and pound.
See how Twitter reacted to these pivotal bouts below:
Holm looks noticeably larger for this fight. Have to wonder whether or not that extra mass could be a disadvantage as the fight gets into the later rounds.
Cyborg is used to carrying that extra muscle, she has had it for 5+ years, Holm might not be.#UFC219
Well, that was a predictable ass-beating. Holm is currently in a similar spot to the one that Faber occupied across BW and FW a few years back, so I don't expect that to be her last title fight.
Dudes behind a keyboard bashing Holly Holm, yet she gave Cyborg the toughest test of her career and did something their Cheeto covered fingers would never have the guts to do. MMA fans can be the worst some times. #UFC219
Holly Holm made a good account of herself tonight, and I should have expected that, as she always gets licks in against an opponent willing to come forward. But Cyborg won every round. #UFC219
Like you, I’m surprised that went the distance. Great show of by Cyborg though, who hopefully reminded everyone that she’s a technical fighter whose worked on her gas tank. #UFC219
Holm landed her two best punches of the fight and all it did was piss off Cyborg. Major props to Holly for her approach and never going down. Credit Cyborg who is much more than a brawler. All standup affair belongs to Cyborg, 50-45. Cris is a better fighter after tonight.
I'm picking Khabib because he has three rounds to get his hands on Barboza. But if he hesitates and Barboza can keep the range and avoid a lazy leg kick, he could pull off the upset. Only problem is that Barboza struggles with pressure fighters and that's what Khabib is.
Conor better get GSP on the phone ASAP or convince Dana to give him Nate trilogy in March because he doesn't want to cross paths with Khabib https://t.co/ez8UGwnXFZ
Thank you for giving all of us all that wonderful violence. I am so grateful for those 15 minutes. Please don't stay gone so long. We need you. #UFC219
The UFC’s year-ending pay-per-view of UFC 219 is in the books from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, dominant women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg faced off with former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm arguably for the title of the greatest female fighter in MMA history. Cyborg put on another defining performance, […]
The UFC’s year-ending pay-per-view of UFC 219 is in the books from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the main event, dominant women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg faced off with former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm arguably for the title of the greatest female fighter in MMA history. Cyborg put on another defining performance, proving she could go five full rounds with a fellow champion by outlasting Holm for her first UFC title defense.
The co-main event saw a pivotal lightweight bout between returning oft-injured Khabib Nurmagomedov and surging striker Edson Barboza, a fight that only served to further muddy the all-out mess that has developed at the top of the UFC 155-pound fray. And muddy it did, as Khabib dominated the Brazilian Barboza from pillar to post to win a lopsided affair and insert his name firmly in the title picture.
Join LowKick MMA for the event’s post-fight press conference as the fighters unpack the fallout of 2017’s last PPV:
Fifteen minutes wasn’t enough for Khabib Nurmagomedov Saturday at 
