Khabib celebrates victory at UFC 223. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter@ufcindia
It's been a five-year wait since his Octagon debut in 2013, but Khabib Nurmagomedov He is, after all, the UFC lightweight champion. Not even the four changes of opponent and the confusion with Conor McGregor in the week of the fight they were able to shake the Russian who entered the Octagon determined. In a confident performance, he scared off the zebra, dominated To the fifth during the five rounds and won the dispute via unanimous decision by the judges (50-43, 50-44, 50,43). The fight was the main attraction of UFC 223, an event held in the early hours of this Sunday (08), in New York (USA). In the end, Khabib still made a point of provoking McGregor.
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“Hey, Brooklyn, this is the real gangster, Iaquinta, who took this fight, not the Conor McGregor. Where is he”, said Khabib, who is already targeting his next opponent. He challenged the Canadian Georges St Pierre, former welterweight and middleweight champion.
“Now I want to face Georges St-Pierre at Madison Square Garden! Let’s make this happen in November”, challenged the Russian
The fight
If anyone was hoping for Zebra to appear in the main fight of UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov He made a point of scaring her away right away. With To the fifth confirmed in the title fight only on Friday night, the Russian had all the pressure to win the fight. And that's exactly what he did.
Iaquinta started the fight trying to land boxing shots, but the first attack on the legs was enough for Khabib to get the takedown and begin the punishment. The Russian quickly got to his back and tried the submission. The American defended the choke well, but was unable to avoid Nurmagomedov's top-down strikes.
In the second round, Khabib waited for Iaquinta's first attack to attack the legs and take him down again. The American tried to get up on several occasions, but was always taken to the ground afterwards. Nurmagomedov got to his back again and was close to the submission. But Iaquinta showed a lot of heart to survive the attack.
With the fight under control, Nurmagomedov seemed to relax in the third round. He avoided working on the takedown game and accepted the stand-up fight against the North American. However, as Iaquinta was already quite worn out, he could barely attack. On the other hand, Khabib works with straight blows that opened a cut on Al's face.
The story of the previous partial was repeated in the fourth round. Khabib exuded physical fitness, controlled the distance and connected the best blows in the stand-up fight. Without risking Iaquinta's desperate attacks.
With the fight in his hands, Khabib returned for the fifth round ready to put on a show. He started going forward and combining good sequences. This time Iaquinta responded and landed a great cross, but nothing that scared the Russian. Calm in the fight, Nurmagomedov returned to his private show with combinations of punches, flying knees and a plastic takedown. Khabib tried to fight on top, trying for a rear-naked choke, but the American managed to survive until the final moment.
UFC 223 RESULTS
MAIN CARD
Khabib Nurmagomedov derrotou To the fifth in the unanimous decision of the judges (50-43, 50-44, 50,43) – fight for the lightweight belt
Rose namajunas derrotou Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the unanimous decision of the judges (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) – fight for the women's strawweight belt
Renato Moicano derrotou Calvin kattar in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Zabit Magomedsharipov defeated Kyle Bochniak via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Chris Gruetzemacher defeated Joe lauzon by technical knockout 5m from R2
PRELIMINARY CARD
Karolina Kowalkiewicz derrotou Felice herrig in the judges' split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Ashlee Evans-Smith defeated Bec Rawlings via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeated Evan dunham by technical knockout at 53 sec. from R1;
Devin Clark defeated Mike Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
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