UFC 242 Results: Khabib, Paul Felder Highlight Biggest Winners from Main Card

Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn't lose.

The UFC superstar returned to the Octagon on Saturday at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi and didn't disappoint, retaining his lightweight title with a third-round, rear-naked choke submission of Dustin Poirier.

It was another display of Nurmagomedov's unmatched dominance:

Nurmagomedov did what he does best: forced the fight to the ground, slowly and methodically wore out Poirier with his superior wrestling and grappling and earned a submission. Despite a slow and cagey beginning to the match, Nurmagomedov soon began dominating the latter part of the first round and most of the second round.

Poirier had his moments, tagging Nurmagomedov a few times and looking like he might shock everyone with a guillotine in the third round.

But Nurmagomedov calmly handled Poirier's striking and freed himself from the guillotine attempt before moving in for the proverbial kill.

So that leaves the obvious question: Who is next for Nurmagomedov?

As you might expect, one name came up consistently:

Make it happen, UFC—it's what the people want.

Other Main Card Results

Islam Makhachev def. Davi Ramos by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Curtis Blaydes def. Shamil Abdurakhimov by TKO (punches and elbows, 2:22 of Round 2)

Diego Ferreira def. Mairbek Taisumov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)

Paul Felder def. Edson Barboza by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27)

Main Card Recap

Ferreira opened the main card by beating Taisumov by unanimous decision, leaning on his superior striking to unquestionably win this match. He also landed one of the best shots of the entire event with this face-melting kick:

Makhachev kept the unanimous decisions going, beating Ramos in a bout that was fairly uneventful in the first round and through the first few minutes of the second. Makhachev rode a strong left hand and solid ground-and-pound in the final round to earn the victory.

He wasn't able to bring home the finish, though it appeared he might with this flurry:

Blaydes offered a bit more excitement, finishing Abdurakhimov in the second round, showing off an elite ground-and-pound attack that simply overwhelmed his opponent:

And Felder and Barboza brought the fireworks (and a bit of controversy, too), providing arguably the fight of the night.

Most of the contentions after the result came from the scoring:

Despite the controversy, the match provided some brilliant moments:

It was a fantastic fight, exactly the sort of tune-up UFC fans were clamoring for ahead of Nurmagomedov's return to the Octagon against Poirier.

Undercard Results

Joanne Calderwood def. Andrea Lee by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

Zubaira Tukhugov split draw with Lerone Murphy (28-29, 29-28, 28-28)

Sarah Moras def. Liana Jojua by TKO (elbows, 2:26 of Round 3)

Ottman Azaitar def. Teemu Packalen by KO (punches, 3:33 of Round 1)

Belal Muhammad def. Takashi Sato by submission (rear-naked choke, 1:55 of Round 3)

Muslim Salikhov def. Nordine Taleb by KO (punches, 4:26 of Round 1)

Omari Akhmedov def. Zak Cummings by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Don Madge def. Fares Ziam by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)