“Nurmagomedov dominates Johnson to stay undefeated, calls for title shot”
Having fought only once in the last two and a half years, it’s easy to forget how dominant Khabib Nurmagomedov has looked in the Octagon. Saturday night was a violent reminder.
The San Jose-based lightweight submitted Michael Johnson with a kimura at 2:31 of the third round to improve his undefeated record to 24-0 in a lightweight match on the preliminary card of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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Johnson (18-11) started out fast, landing flurries of punches while setting a frenetic pace. The 6th-ranked Blackzillains product rocked Nuemagomedov a few times in the opening minutes of the contest. But the Russian took control of the fight by wrestling Johnson to the mat and dominating him with ground-and-pound.
Nurmagomedov, 28, controlled Johnson, 30, from top position throughout the bout, finally finishing him with a kimura. If the Russian from AKA in the South Bay didn’t say enough with his performance, he said it after the fight, lobbying for a title fight in the 155-pound division.
“I want to fight your guy, he’s a chicken,” Nurmagomedov stated in a postfight interview referring to Conor McGregor. “This is number one easy fight in division…Let’s go with your chicken.”
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In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez via 2nd round knockout to win the UFC lightweight championship. McGregor becomes the first fighter in the promotion’s history to simultaneously hold two titles in two different weight classes.