by Nikolas Molina
With Khabib Nurmagomedov being a dominant top position grappler and Conor McGregor being an insane kick boxer, this match was destined to be one for the books.
It took roughly less than 30 seconds for Nurmagomedov to set up an attack for the first time, a single leg that was awkward. McGregor defended it well and did nothing for a while. Once Nurmagomedov was on top, he started to work towards his favorite leg triangle, and McGregor tried to counter by wall-walking.
When on top, Nurmagomedov was conservative. Working inches at a time, McGregor tried to work and advance into better position. McGregor was able to delay for quite a long time, but Nurmagomedov worked his way into a strong half guard and finished the round with some decent shots.
Nurmagomedov opened the second round with a massive overhand that planted McGregor on the floor. He was a bit frantic in trying to achieve the knockout, but Nurmagomedov settled down and landed a takedown along the fence. This time, Nurmagomedov settled into guard and went to work. McGregor mostly just held on his back.
Nurmagomedov picked openings and landed huge blows. Quickly, Nurmagomedov was standing above McGregor and dropping hard shots, which was some real damage. McGregor took the shots and kept going, he even stood up in the final seconds of the round.
McGregor opened the third round by targeting the body with crosses and kicks. He finally denied the takedown for the first time, but Nurmagomedov backed him up with some hard shots and drove him into the fence. After denying another takedown, they went back to trading shots on the feet. Nurmagomedov finished the closest round yet by driving McGregor into the fence, only scoring a takedown.
McGregor opened the fourth round with some kicks to the abdomen, making sure to keep his distance. However, Nurmagomedov was able to drive McGregor into the fence and shoot in, securing another takedown along the fence. Nurmagomedov immediately transitioned into his leg triangle, forcing McGregor to turn his back and give up the mount.
McGregor worked to recover guard, but Nurmagomedov put him back into mount. McGregor made an attempt to escape, which allowed Nurmagomedov to advance into back mount. There would be escape for McGregor as Nurmagomedov latched onto his jaw and cranked his way to a submission.
Nurmagomedov won the fight through submission in the fourth round of the lightweight title fight. But the victory seemed overlooked by the post-fight brawl which ended up in three arrests.
After McGregor tapped out, Khabib immediately and pointed at somebody and started talking towards McGregor’s corner. He hopped over the cage and attacked McGregor’s training partner, Bellator welterweight Dillon Danis.
Meanwhile this is going on McGregor is being attacked by two of Nurmagomedov entourage. Zubaira Tukhugov a flyweight fighter was one of two part of the entourage, he struck McGregor on the back of the head then was dragged away.
Dana White, UFC President, confirmed later, that three members of Nurmagomedov’s entourage have been arrested. McGregor decided to not press charges against them. White stated that the UFC fighters involved in the attack are never going to fight for the UFC ever again.
“I’ve been doing this for 18 years and I couldn’t be more disappointed,” White stated in the post-fight conference. “It was a very good week for everybody. It just sucks to end it like this, instead of celebrating we’re saying ‘that was pretty s***’.”
It took minutes for security and police officers to bring the situation under control. Dana White and Nurmagomedov then got into a argument when White would not present him the belt inside the octagon. McGregor did not attend the post-fight conference, Nurmagomedov apologized at the conference but blamed McGregor for the post-fight brawl. Khabib extended his professional record to 27-0 with the win.
“First of all, I want to say sorry to the Nevada Athletic Commission and second to Vegas. I know this is not my best side. I’m a human being. But I don’t understand how people can talk about how I jump on the cage. He talked about my religion, he talked about my country, he talked about my father. He came to Brooklyn and he broke a bus, he almost killed a couple of people. What about this s***? Why do people talk about me jumping over the cage? I don’t understand. This is a respectful sport, not a trash-talking sport. I want to change the game, you cannot talk about religion, about nationality,” said Nurmagomedov in his post-fight interview.
White stated that he would not take Khabib’s title away, but there will be fines, penalties, and suspensions handed out.
“There’s going to be fines, there’s going to be God knows what. Can these guys get visas and get back in the country? We’ll see how this thing plays out. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to go after him pretty hard, I’m sure. He doesn’t have to worry about me right now; he has to worry about Nevada. The governor was here tonight, and he went running out of the building. That’s not good. He’s in trouble,” said White.
Khabib has not yet been paid for the fight and the entire situation is still under close investigation.
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