Robert Whittaker Heaps Praise On Khabib Following UFC 242 Win
While Tony Ferguson was left unimpressed by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s performance at UFC 242, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was all praise.
Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title with a dominant outing against Dustin Poirier this past weekend as he submitted him in the third round. Many pondered afterwards if anyone would be able to defeat “The Eagle” who is now 28-0. Whittaker is one of them:
“I don’t see Khabib losing anytime soon,” Whittaker said on Grange TV (transcript via MMA Junkie). “I just can’t. He put work on Dustin (Poirier). Dustin is a great fighter. And, you know, every opponent that goes in there to fight Khabib knows what Khabib is going to do. They know. So I’m sure Dustin worked wrestling defense rigorously, like the entire camp.”
Whittaker stated before that the only way he felt Nurmagomedov could be beaten was if he was caught flush with a knockout punch. Poirier did have moments of success in the fight with an attempted guillotine while he also stunned Nurmagomedov with some strikes in the second round.
That alone impressed “The Reaper” that the champion was able to take a Poirier punch on the chin:
“Khabib is something else,” Whittaker added. “His cardio, his subtle technique, his arm endurance, his stamina, and what blew me out of the water was his chin. He copped one of Dustin’s textbook left hands on the button of his chin.”
Do you think Ferguson is the one to challenge Nurmagomedov? Or will “The Eagle” remain unbeaten?
