A certain line of thinking emerged from some quarters of the MMA world in the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s unanimous decision victory over Al Iaquinta: The idea that because Nurmagomedov wasn’t able to finish Iaquinta, his victory in the main event of UFC 223 wasn’t impressive, 50-43 scores be damned.
Of course, Iaquinta isn’t exactly chopped liver. He came into the bout at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center having lost just one fight since 2012. Maybe he’s doesn’t have Conor McGregor’s star power, but he’s far from an easy out in the cage, and he knows it.