Khabib finishes Poirier to unify title at UFC 242

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“Everything I am is because of my father,” he said after the victory. “I want to say thank you so much to all of my family, my team, my brothers, my uncles — we have grown up together, we have all done this together. MMA is about respect; this is what we showed tonight.”

Nurmagomedov is ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound MMA rankings, behind only light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Poirier came in at No. 9, tied with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

“Put me on No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter next week, because I think I deserve this,” Nurmagomedov said at his postfight news conference. “Because I dominate with all my opponents. I am undefeated. I think I deserve some respect.”

Heading into the third round Saturday, Nurmagomedov dominated the entire way with his wrestling and grappling. He was in control for a total of 8:54. Nurmagomedov put Poirier on his back in the first round and nearly got a chokehold at that point. Poirier survived, but he spent nearly the entire round on the ground with Nurmagomedov all over him. Twice, Poirier went for reversals, but Nurmagomedov ended up with even more dominant positions.

Poirier showed heart in the second round. He landed a big right hand and followed with another, putting Nurmagomedov on his heels. Poirier chased the champion in an attempt to rope him into a brawl. It didn’t quite work and the flurry seemed to tire Poirier. Again, Nurmagomedov took him down and put him in the wrestling grinder. Ground-and-pound opened up a cut near Poirier’s left eye.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov says Tony Ferguson deserves the next fight for the title but wants to rest first. For more UFC, sign up here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.

In the third round, Nurmagomedov shot for a takedown against the cage, and Poirier grabbed onto a tight guillotine. He held it for more than 30 seconds, changed positions and it seemed to be close, but Nurmagomedov slipped out. The bout was over soon after. Nurmagomedov got onto Poirier’s back, wrapped his arms around his neck, fell back and Poirier had no choice but to tap.

“I feel like I left myself down,” Poirier said. “My career was set up for this moment. I was so prepared, I didn’t cut any corners. When I wake up I need to take a look in the mirror; I need some time to learn from this. If this has taught me anything, it’s to be thankful and gracious. I’m sorry if I let anyone down.”

Inside the cage, Nurmagomedov landed seven takedowns and outstruck Poirier 22-12 in significant strikes. Nurmagomedov has completed 59 takedowns in his UFC career, compared to just two from his opponents. On the ground, Nurmagomedov has outlanded opponents 379-11.

The two fighters respectfully exchanged shirts afterward. Nurmagomedov said he would auction Poirier’s shirt off and send the money back to him for his foundation. Nurmagomedov said previously that Tony Ferguson, who is on a 12-fight winning streak, should be his next opponent, but Saturday he said he needed some time to rest and contemplate.

Nurmagomedov (28-0) remains undefeated and has hardly been challenged in the UFC. “The Eagle” has won 12 in a row in the UFC and he and Anderson Silva are the only fighters to start their UFC careers with that winning streak. Silva went 16-0 to begin his UFC run, a record mark.

Nurmagomedov, 30, had not fought since beating McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018 via neck-crank submission in the fourth round. Nurmagomedov was suspended nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for his role in the postfight brawl at UFC 229, which led to the institution of the interim title.

McGregor, who has also not fought since his loss to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, alluded to a possible rematch Saturday night on social media.