Khabib Nurmagomedov Beats Conor McGregor Via Submission in Notorious' Return

Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0) successfully defended his UFC lightweight championship against Conor McGregor (21-4) via fourth-round submission in the main event of UFC 229 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight dynamics played out early in the first round. McGregor pressured on the feet and landed a smooth left hand before Nurmagomedov latched onto a leg and eventually drove his opponent to the ground and against the cage. 

Nurmagomedov took his time on the ground, carefully working to advance his position and ended the round in top position, starting to open up with light ground-and-pound. As FloCombat noted, it was the ideal start for the Russian:

In the second, Nurmagomedov chose to showcase a little bit of his own boxing. He landed a cracking right hand that staggered the Irishman and set up an eventual takedown from the Russian. 

That would be bad news for McGregor, as Nurmagomedov's grappling advantage became even more pronounced. He eventually went into "Khabib Smash" mode, landing massive punches from a stacked guard position to punctuate another round. 

McGregor wasn't to be counted out, though. He showed signs of life in the third frame as Nurmagomedov willingly exchanged in the stand-up and had the majority of his takedown attempts stuffed. 

The moment would be short-lived for McGregor, though. In the fourth round, Nurmagomedov once again got the fight to the ground, where he was able to sink in the rear-naked choke and draw the tap to defend his belt. 

It's only one title defense for The Eagle, but it's the kind of defense that could launch him into stardom. Nurmagomedov has been dominant throughout his professional career; remaining undefeated by beating the UFC's biggest star is only going to see his stock rise.

Whom the Russian will see next in the cage is intriguing. Obviously, he could defend his lightweight title, but a win of this magnitude tends to open the door for superfights with some outside-of-the-box options. Nurmagomedov has said before that staying undefeated is his top priority

"For me, being undefeated is more important than the UFC belt," Nurmagomedov said, per Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com. "How many fighters in the world right now are 26-0? I don't want to lose. This is not only about a fight; this is about every single minute, every single round—I don't want to lose. I want to dominate all the time."

With this win on his resume, Nurmagomedov is going to be expected to dominate just about anyone the UFC throws in his path next.