Khabib Nurmagomedov relentlessly dropped ground and pound bombs on Edson Barboza tonight at UFC 219 en-route to a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
Inside leg kick to start from Barboza. Another lands and a punch to the body too. Continual inside leg kicks from the Brazilian.
Nurmagomedov marching forward regardless. He lands a right hand and then gets Barboza in the clinch against the cage. However as he works for the takedown Barboza is able to break free.
Back in striking range Barboza lands a solid body kick. Nurmagomedov charges forward into a flying knee attempt and then gets back to the clinch and lands the takedown he’s been looking for.
Immediately Nurmagomedov is landing hard ground and pound strikes as he postures over him. More solid shots lands and then he starts to move into side control. Barboza keeps him at bay for now, but eats a big punch instead.
Nurmagomedov gets to full mount. He cracks Barboza with a few hard right hands. The Brazilian is trying to works his way up against the cage, but Nurmagomedov is wise to that and preents it, then continues to maul him with punches.
A few left hands getting through as Barboza gets his back to the cage again. Nurmagomedov briefly thinks about a guillotine choke, then lets go of it and goes back to dropping bombs. Big round for ‘The Eagle!’
Round Two:
Leg kick for Nurmagomedov. Barboza sporting damage on his face from the first round and looks a little unsteady on his feet. Nurmagomedov working kicks and punches and continually backing his opponent up.
Nurmagomedov presses Barboza to the cage and lands a series of short left hands. Barboza pushes him away and gets away from danger for now.
Flashy technique fails from Barboza. Right hands connect for Nurmagomedov. Takedown lands. Barboza trying to get up again, but Nurmagomedov was never going to allow that to happen.
Half-guard for Nurmagomedov, then towards full mount. Short left hooks to the face. Now a cuffing right hand that almost straight to the back of the head.
Barboza gets to a knee and tries to stand, but Nurmagomedov drags him straight back down. Nurmagomedov lands a hard punch to the head and a couple to the body as the round ends. Barboza looks completely demoralized out there.
Round Three:
Barboza trying to fight with a little more conviction early in the third round and lands a solid leg kick. Punches from Nurmagomedov sets up the clinch and then the inevitable takedown. Barboza still on one knee against the cage and then stands, but Nurmagomedov is still on him and looking for another opportunity to bring him to the mat.
Barboza doing well to stay upright and eventually works back to the center of the Octagon with half the round remaining.
Suddenly Barboza throws a spinning head kick and it partially lands, but the Russian is unmoved by it and starts stalking him again. Soon after Nurmagomedov is able to close the distance and take Barboza down.
Half guard for Nurmagomedov and landing a series of hard left hands. Barboza scrambles to his feet. He goes for a big knee upstairs and almost lands with it. Nurmagomedov marching forward again as the round ends.
Decision:
This was one way traffic from start to finish, with Nurmagomedov’s completely dominant wrestling and world class ground and pound giving Barboza all he could handle for 15 minutes, and that’s reflected in the unanimous landslide scorecards (30-25 x2, 30-24).
