Khabib Nurmagomedov Dominates Tough-As-Nails Al Iaquinta To Win Belt

Finishing the all-out insanity that went down in the UFC this entire week, undefeated top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov took on last-minute replacement Al Iaquinta in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., April 7, 2018) UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The scene was unlike any other ever witnessed in MMA, as “The Eagle” had faced five potential opponents in only six days – starting with his original opponent, longtime rival Tony Ferguson, who was forced out of the fourth time the fight was booked after tripping over a cord in a dark room while wearing sunglasses fulfilling his UFC-mandated media obligations for the fight.

Yes, that really happened, but it actually got worse. Ferguson’s replacement Max Holloway had the courage to fill in for “El Cucuy,” but the featherweight champ’s weight cut to even lightweight was too big, and he was deemed medically unfit to compete at Friday morning’s early weigh-ins.

From that finding spun a chaotic sequence of events where former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, who was scheduled to fight Michael Chiesa but had no fight when “Maverick” was injured in Conor McGregor‘s illegal bus melee, was targeted to replace Holloway, then Paul Felder, who was turned down because he was unranked, and finally settling on Iaquinta, who could not win the title because he weighed in early 155.2 pounds, 0.2 pounds over the title limit of 155.

As for the actual fight, it was another dominant showing from Nurmagomedov despite some incredible toughness shown by ‘Ragin’ Al.’

The main event bout began with Iaquinta throwing a jab. ‘Ragin” pressed the pace early, landing a good punch. Khabib shot and Iaquinta avoided. A big right missed from Iaquinta before Khabib shot and got the takedown to smother Iaquinta. “The Eagle” took Iaquinta’s back but he got back up. Khabib dumped him again and went to the mount. Iaquinta got up a bit as Khabib hit him with ground punches. Shots rained down and “The Eagle” rode Iaquinta down when he tried to stand back up. Iaquinta stood up but was taken down again as Khabib stuck on him and unleashed more ground damage. “Ragin’ Al” stood back up to end the first round, but it was a dominant showing for Nurmagomedov.

Iaquinta came out pressing the action to start the second, landing a right hand and staying low to hopefully avoid the takedown. Nurmagomedov dove for a takedown and Iaquinta defended it, but Khabib persevered to get another. “The Eagle” rode Iaquinta’s back until the path for another double leg came, and Khabib was on his back instantly. “The Eagle” went for a choke but Iaquinta got out only to be back-mounted. Flattened out, Khabib rained down big shots and went for another choke, yet Iaquinta survived to see the third frame.

The third frame kicked off with Iaquinta landing a jab and missing a big left. He scored a right and the fighters traded strikes. Khabib snapped two jabs and Iaquinta taunted him a bit before Nurmagomedov landed a few strikes. Iaquinta shook off a takedown and landed a solid right. Nurmagomedov kept scoring jabs and threw a kick. Both competitors landed leg kicks. Iaquinta grabbed a Khabib kick and countered with a right hand before Nurmagomedov threw a spinning kick. Nurmagomedov scored with a two-piece combination and continued snapping his jab. The third ended with Iaquinta just missing on a big right hook.

The feature bout headed into the championship rounds, and they started with “Ragin’ Al” stalking Khabib. Nurmagomedov went for a takedown that was defended and then landed a shot. Nurmagomedov walked Iaquinta down but Iaquinta countered. Nurmagomedov snapped a jab and a hook but was countered. He kept scoring jabs, but another takedown was shucked. Iaquinta worked the body, and Khabib went for a wild combo. Iaquinta attempted a takedown but landed a left hand to roars. Iaquinta landed a big shot, Nurmagomedov a combination, and a strong strike from “Ragin’ Al” ended the fourth.

The fifth and final frame started with a takedown from Nurmagomedov that was stuffed. A nice combination scored from “The Eagle,” but “Ragin’ Al” landed a good body shot followed by a left. Iaquinta scored with a strong uppercut and another strike, throwing a missing spinning backfist. A body shot and jabs landed from Nurmagomedov. “The Eagle” sought a takedown on the fence but was defend again. Khabib in the striking then took Iaquinta down. Taking his back, he rained punches and looked for the choke, but the bloodied Iaquinta defended well. The five-round battle ended with Khabib on Iaquinta’s back.

When the dust settled, Khabib was crowned the lightweight champ by a wide margin on a game Iaquinta.

Final Result: Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-43, 50-43)