UFC 242: Khabib vs Poirier

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UFC 242 RECAP: Khabib vs Poirier | Franchise Sports Media — Photo Courtesy via mmajunkie.usatoday.com

It was quite the usual start time for a UFC pay-per-view, starting at 11 am PT, but viewers still tuned in to watch Khabib Nurmagomedov’s return to the octagon. In his first appearance since defeating Conor McGregor, Khabib successfully defended his Lightweight Championship against Dustin Poirier in front of a raucous crowd in Abu Dhabi.

Main Event – World Lightweight Championship – Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) def. Dustin Poirier (25-6, 1 NC) – Rear Naked Choke – 3rd Round 2:06

This fight was very different from the last one Khabib participated in, there was no bad blood between Poirier and him. The two fighters came in with the utmost respect for each other and battle it out for the Lightweight Championship. There was a brief moment in the third round when Poirier had Khabib locked in a guillotine before Khabib calmly took his time and escaped out of the choke. Besides that, Khabib mainly dominated the fight by mauling and wrestling his opponent until he was successfully able to lock in the rear-naked choke. Within seconds, Poirier had no choice but to tap out and end the fight.

Co-main Event – Lightweight bout – Paul Felder (17-4) def. Edson Barboza (20-8) – Split Decision

An anticipated rematch from 2015 did not disappoint as both fighters gave everything they had for all three rounds. They both threw punches and kicks nonstop, were cut and bleeding from their faces, and still managed to go the distance. In a controversial decision that could have gone either way, Felder got the slight victory to avenge his first defeat to Barboza. Perhaps the two can meet again for a third fight sometime in the future.

Lightweight bout – Islam Makhachev (18-1) def. Davi Ramos (10-3) – Unanimous Decision

Makhachev and Ramos battled it out for all three rounds, going back and forth at each other. In the end, the judges all agreed on Makhachev as the winner.

Heavyweight bout – Curtis Blaydes (12-2, 1 NC) def. Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-5) – TKO – 2nd Round 2:22

This fight was all Curtis Blaydes as he almost finished Abdurakhimov in the first round, before being saved by the bell. However, in the second round, Blaydes continued to dominate his opponent by doing ground and pound. With Abdurakhimov on the ground, Blaydes landed a nasty elbow on his opponent’s nose, looking he possibly broke it. When the referee noticed Abdurakhimov holding his nose, he stopped the fight.