UNBEATEN, unbowed and now champion.
Just like he promised unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov captured the UFC lightweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over a game but overmatched Al Iaquinta at the UFC 223 last week at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Most experts thought it would be an easy win for Khabib. After all Iaquinta was a last, last minute replacement of Anthony Pettis, who was a last minute replacement of Max Holloway who was himself a late replacement of Tony Ferguson.
during their UFC championship fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. AFP
And it did look like an easy win for Khabib early on. Less than a minute into the fight and the Eagle had already grabbed Iaquinta’s leg for a takedown. Nurmagomedov simply took over the round with his grappling. Iaquinta did manage to scramble to his feet only to be taken down again.
Nurmagomedov did more of the same in the second round. He missed his first takedown attempt but still took down Iaquinta within the first minute. Nurmagomedov flattened Iaquinta on his back then went to work with ground-and-pound. Iaquinta barely survived the round.
Things played out differently in the third round. Probably wanting to make things interesting Nurmagomedov didn’t look for the takedown and instead opted to trade shots with Iaquinta. Nurmagomedov still won the round but Iaquinta didn’t look so overmatched anymore.
The fourth and fifth rounds unfolded much like the third with both fighters staying on their feet and trading strikes. Iaquinta was taken down again late in the fifth round but he managed to survive although he did eventually lose by decision.
Khabib hiked his record to 26-0 and immediately called out Georges St-Pierre hoping for a big money fight.
“Now, I wanna fight with Georges St-Pierre in New York, Madison Square Garden, in November,” the 29-year-old Russian said.
A fight between Nurmagomedov and 36-year-old St-Pierre would be a blockbuster. The Canadian MMA legend returned to action November last year after a four-year break and beat Michael Bisping to claim the UFC middleweight crown.
Nurmagomedov said a match against St-Pierre would be a “legacy fight” that pits him against one of MMA’s all-time greats.
The undefeated Russian has plenty of other options. There is former interim lightweight champion Ferguson who pulled out of UFC 223 due to a knee injury. There is UFC featherweight champion Holloway who stepped in for UFC 223 but who was prevented from participating by doctors.
And of course there is Irish MMA star Conor McGregor who seems to be drumming up interest for a really big UFC fight after he attacked a bus carrying UFC 223 fighters. He was reportedly seeking revenge in behalf of his sparring partner Artem Lobov who had a dust-up with Nurmagomedov earlier in the week.
McGregor will have to sort out legal problems of course because of that incident but the brouhaha surrounding the incident has already created enough interest to make that fight the biggest that Nurmagomedov could have as a UFC titleholder.
