- The Russian champion beat the challenger, Justin Gaethje, with a triangle choke in the second round.
- He would announce his retirement immediately after the fight, due to a promise he gave to his mother.
- Khabib goes away from the UFC as arguably the biggest champion ever.
Another Win for Khabib and a Shocking Announcement
The Russian Eagle, as many call Khabib Nurmagomedov, defended his UFC lightweight title with a second-round victory against Justin Gaethje, submitting the challenger with 1:34 inside the second round. Nurmagomedov used a triangle choke to restrain the challenger, who didn’t have an answer on how to stop the opponent’s constant pressure.
In an interview with Jon Anik inside the octagon, the champ would reveal his immediate retirement. Khabib made a promise to his mother that a match against Gaethje would be the last one.
“Today I want to say it was my last fight. I talked with my mother for three days. She don’t (want me) to go fight without father, but I promised her it’s gonna be my last fight. And if I give my word, I have to follow this.”
Nurmagomedov and Gaethje didn’t have a spectacular fight as many expected. Khabib dictated the tempo, constantly going forward and hunting the American in the octagon. At the same time, Gaethje had a couple of punches that were solid yet didn’t do any damage to the Russian.
He tried to keep the separation between them with leg kicks, but as time went by, Nurmagomedov continued to push forward, eventually forcing the rival to lose too much energy. With the first round coming to an end, he scored a takedown, and went for Gaethje’s arm. The time would save the challenger here, as the bell sounded.
Khabib picked up where he left right after the start of the second, again taking down Gaethje to the ground, but this time, there was no way out for the American. A vicious triangle choke ended the bout, keeping the champion’s record perfect.
With 29-0, Khabib walks away from the MMA as the most dominant fighter ever, and even though he didn’t reach his goal to retire with 30-0, his impact an influence on this sport is unlimited.
What Next?
It seems that we might see a similar situation in the UFC lightweight division as in the light heavyweight, where Jon Jones had to let go of his belt.
The organization set up a match for the vacated throne, between the last challenger and the next one in the rankings. At the moment, there is one very interesting scenario in progress here.
Gaethje will probably await the winner of the bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, as he recently defeated Tony Ferguson.
El Cucuy is still in the combination, but as a reserve option. Though, many suggest that the UFC could organize another fight between Gaethje and him, and then see the winner of that match going against the better from McGregor vs. Poirier in a title clash.
