UFC 219 was seen as a major test for #4 Edson Barboza's wrestling ability, and even more so, #2 Khabib Nurmagomedov's weight cutting and stand-up skills.
Khabib wasn't interested in answering questions about his chin, or stand-up skills. While he had some fundamentally flawed footwork, he closed the distance and clamped down on Barboza's unfortunate soul. This continued for the duration of the bout, as Nurmagomedov won a lopsided unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
You can see an excerpt from our live coverage below.
Round Three: The round begins with Barboza attempting a flying knee strike and missing, Barboza attacks Nurmagomedov with some leg kicks. Nurmagomedov charges forward and he swings away at Barboza, Nurmagomedov gets Barboza against the cage wall while landing some strikes. Barboza breaks free and he gets into a striking exchange with Nurmagomedov, Barboza attempts a spinning wheel kick against Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov scores a takedown on Barboza and he gets the half guard, Nurmagomedov attacks Braboza with some ground and pound. Barboza scrambles to his feet and he nails Nurmagomedov with a knee strike as the round ends.
Fightful scores the round 10-9 for Nurmagomedov (Final Score: 30-25 for Nurmagomedov)
Official Result: #2 Khabib Nurmagomedov def. #4 Edson Barboza by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
Still undefeated after UFC 219, Khabib has had struggles with both injury and making weight throughout his career. While he was in the title picture as far back as 2014, but because of setbacks, still hasn't competed in a five-round fight. Barboza himself has been a fixture in the division since 2010.
"I don't think about those two bullsh-t guys," Nurmagomedov said in response to his thoughts on UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor and UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson. He'd later say he's more likely to fight Ferguson because of the amount of money McGregor made in his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.
Nurmagomedov is 9-0 in the UFC, and 25-0 in his career.
You can see our full, live coverage of UFC 219 at this link, staff predictions at this link, several of our fighter interviews on the show at this link, and our live, post-show podcast at this link.
