UFC 242: is there any way Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn't beat Dustin Poirier?

The Game Room
1

I am not a dedicated fan of MMA or boxing but I do watch occasionally and I’m interested in UFC because it’s a Las Vegas-based organization. Last summer, I found the Nurmagomedov/McGregor fight online right after the actual fight ended, and I was impressed with Nurmagomedov’s skills. Grapplers are insanely dangerous, and Nurmagomedov was clearly an excellent grappler (that was the first time I had seen him). I watched a couple of older fights and was even more impressed with his skills and his resolve.

As promotion for UFC 242 (held tomorrow, Saturday 7 September 2019), they’ve put some stuff online.

Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor - complete fight (21:38)

Nurmagomedov’s opponent is interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier. I watched his fight with Max Holloway to secure the interim belt last night.

Holloway vs. Poirier - complete fight (31:38)

So what I saw was that Poirier looked more like a boxer than a grappler or martial artist. He barely handled Max Holloway, a guy with a lot of stamina but who didn’t seem to have much more in his arsenal than that.

Nurmagomedov, OTOH, destroyed McGregor. His punching was powerful, even tho he clearly didn’t look like a boxer, but it was his ability to tie up his opponent and deliver powerful, crushing force that seemed to be the deciding factor in not just that match, but several others that I’ve since watched.

I realize that I have a very limited perspective, however, so I thought I’d ask some of y’all who are more informed than me what your opinions on this fight are now, and we’ll see how they play out tomorrow. But for me, I just don’t see any way that Poirier gets a win; Nurmagomedov is just too strong, too fast and too powerful with a skill set that is ddamned hard to counter, like insanely hard to counter.

Any discussion on the other dozen or so matches on the card is welcome, too, of course.

So: is there any way Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t beat Dustin Poirier?

2

In boxing, they say “styles make fights”, which typically refers to the idea that how technically and visually appealing a fight can be is dependent on the similarities and differences of the boxers’ styles.

In MMA, I think this applies even more. There are so many ways of fighting and defending that it’s almost impossible to predict how a fight will transpire, especially when fighters can change tactics and defense strategies on the fly.

That said, I think Khabib takes it easily. But I’m far better at making boxing predictions than MMA.

3

I see that Poirier submitted. I haven’t watched the fight yet; just saw the results online.

I just watched the post-fight interview in the ring, and HOLY FUCK! Khabib Nurmagomedov is a class act.

4

Missed the edit window but I should have noted that Dustin Poirier is also a class act.

5

I just watched the fight; Nurmagomedov dominated for all but about 15 seconds of the 2nd round. The conclusion was obvious before the 3rd round even started and sure enough, 2 minutes later it was over.

6

I wanted to watch, and normally order all the PPV’s, but I had daytime plans.

7

Not nearly as much drama in this fight as there was last year against McGregor, but it was a good fight; when you do get a chance to see it, I think you’ll agree.

And I gotta say: “Khabib Nurmagomedov” is a fantastic name. It took me a few times before I was comfortable saying his last name, but really, once I had, it rolls off my tongue beautifully. I also have a long and unique surname (not quite as long as his, tho) so I always try and make sure I say other’s names correctly and this one is awesome.