The Eagle Silences Notorious In Dominant Victory At UFC 229
Khabib Nurmagomedov coming into the biggest fight of his life vowed to crush Conor McGregor.
He did that and more at UFC 229, leaving his mark as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0, 11-0 UFC) defeated Conor McGregor (22-3, 9-2 UFC) by 4th-Round submission on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena to retain his UFC lightweight title.
The hype surrounding the mega-fight centered around the very realistic and bitter hatred that boiled between the two fighters into Conor McGregor being arrested for assault earlier this year after throwing a dolly through a UFC travel bus window that held Khabib Nurmagomedov on it.
Outside of that, fans, analysts and so forth wanted to see what would win out in a fight between Conor McGregor, the cerebral KO-artist and striker, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the dominating grappler who has rode his dominance on the ground all the way to a 26-0 mark.
We got out our answer on Saturday night as Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated Conor McGregor from start to finish in a one-sided affair in a packed T-Mobile arena.
The sambo master in the first minute of action got the fight to the mat vs McGregor, who was making his first octagon appearance in nearly two years.
‘The Eagle’ would hold McGregor against the octagon fence for most of the round on the ground, peppering him with strikes when he could but mostly dominating the positional aspect of the grappling.
In round two the champion would put the Irish Superstar into unfamiliar territory as a well timed right hook over the top would drop McGregor for a knockdown for the first time in his career as he quickly pounced on him.
It would be a dominating round for Nurmagomedov, who he lifted off his feet for a huge slam before pounding away on McGregor with thudding ground and pound shots.
Looking confidently still but tiring, McGregor would find better results in the second round. He would land kicks and punches at the body of his opponent, landing a nice right uppercut on Nurmagomedov, but the champion remained poised as he got the fight to the mat and kept it there until the end of the round.
In round four Nurmagomedov would take advantage of a fading McGregor, getting him to the ground once more near the fence. He would mount McGregor, who tried to scramble out but would give up his back as well as his neck for Nurmagomedov to grab ahold of and begin squeezing.
McGregor, a few moments after having Nurmagomedov arms clasped around his chin and neck area for a neck crank, would tap out, giving Nurmagomedov the win.
After the fight, emotions would boil over for a very angry and intense Khabib Nurmagomedov who throughout the promotion was assaulted verbally in personal ways in this very real disdain between the two fighters.
Nurmagomedov would have words to say to McGregor after the fight before turning his attention to McGregor’s team as he would start a melee outside of the octagon before another took place inside of it. McGregor, against his cage looking on, would take a cheap shot from a member of Nurmagomedov’s team.
This was supposed to be a shining moment for Khabib Nurmagomedov, and in the history books as well as history itself, will be remembered.
His post-fight actions, however, ruined the final images of what was a brilliant fight by him in which he displayed a undeniable and unstoppable ground game as well as solid striking on the feet vs one of the best strikers in the sport.
What the UFC will have to say about this, or rather do, will be what everyone follows over the coming days as some possible suspensions or bans may be coming from the aftermath of the event.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s 11-fight win streak is tied for the longest in UFC history with Tony Ferguson, who also won at the event.
UFC 229 Results
Tony Ferguson wins thriller vs Anthony Pettis by 2nd Round TKO
Dominick Reyes dominates Ovince Saint Preux in unanimous decision victory
Derrick Lewis storms back to stun Alexander Volkov in Round 3 by KO
Michelle Waterson sharp and versatile in unanimous decision win over Felice Herrig
Jussier Da Silva steady in unanimous decision win over Sergio Pettis
Vicente Luque punishes Jalin Turner with thunderous right hand to win by KO in Round 1
Aspen Ladd ground and pounds to Round 1 TKO win over Tonya Evinger
Scott Holtzman dispatches Alan Patrick Silva Alves in Round 3 via ground and pound strikes by TKO
Yana Kunitskaya outpaces Lina Lansberg for unanimous decision victory
Nik Lentz blasts Gray Maynard with devastating head kick to win by TKO in Round 2
Tony Martin uses head kick to finish Ryan LaFlare by KO in Round 3
What are your thoughts on UFC 229? Leave your comments below!
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