Khabib Nurmagomedov Becomes UFC Champ, Not with a Bang but with a Whimper
After the most unpredictable week in UFC history, it felt good to regain some sense of normalcy.
Khabib Nurmagomedov beat Al Iaquinta in the main event of UFC 223 on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He's the new UFC lightweight champion. This outcome was expected.
Iaquinta was tasked to face Nurmagomedov only 24 hours prior. The Dagestani bruiser is daunting enough for those who are prepared for him; stepping up on just one day's notice is foolhardy at best. Though there is no such thing as a guarantee in mixed martial arts, this fight was as close to one as you can get.
Less expected were the twists and turns that brought Nurmagomedov (and the rest of us) to Saturday night. Here's a brief refresher: Conor McGregor, upon seeing Nurmagomedov confront his teammate Artem Lobov in New York City earlier in the week, decided to load up his private jet with a bunch of his friends/goons, fly to New York overnight and show up at the Barclays Center on Thursday.
Oh, and Nurmagomedov was originally scheduled to face Tony Ferguson, who was replaced by Max Holloway due to injury, only for the New York State Athletic Commission to determine Holloway wasn't medically fit to compete.
Whew.
McGregor's hooliganism caused a total of three fights to be pulled from the card, but it gave Iaquinta an opening for a historic upset. Exactly 11 years after Matt Serra upset Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title, Serra was in Iaquinta's corner as he tried to pull off a similar feat.
It was not to be.
Nurmagomedov continues to be a man apart in the UFC lightweight division. He moved his record to an unheard-of 26-0 and has cemented himself as the best lightweight on the planet.
But it wasn't all roses for the 29-year-old; that Iaquinta was able to last all five rounds must be considered as much a negative for Nurmagomedov as it was a positive for Iaquinta.
The new champion bullied Iaquinta on the ground in the first two rounds, but beyond that he decided to keep things standing and trade punches with the hard-headed New Yorker. This strategy did not go quite as well, though Nurmagomedov still handily won these exchanges.
Nurmagomedov was able to keep his calm demeanor despite a fight week that would've upset anyone—and in the midst of preparing for the biggest fight of his career. He passed the test with flying colors.
"You don't become the "undisputed champion" by beating Al Iaquinta via decision. Sorry. #UFC223
— JE Snowden (@JESnowden) April 8, 2018"
Still, we must remember that Nurmagomedov's experience against the upper tier of the UFC's lightweight division is minimal. He's never faced anyone ranked as high as Tony Ferguson (his original opponent for Saturday night) or McGregor. It's far from a sure thing that he'd beat either man as easily as he has the rest of his opponents thus far.
But for now, in this McGregor- and Ferguson-less moment, Nurmagomedov is clearly the best. After being considered one of the best fighters in the world for the past few years, it is now officially Khabib Time, and Ferguson and McGregor are on the clock.
