Khabib Nurmagomedov famously wrestled a bear cub as a child.
Edson Barboza, Nurmagomedov’s opponent Saturday night, might as well have been fighting a full-grown grizzly Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in the co-main event of UFC 219. The most feral monster couldn’t have possibly inflicted much more damage on the Brazilian striker than what Nurmagomedov managed.
Nurmagomedov overpowered, out-grappled and knocked Barboza around to earn one of the most lopsided unanimous decisions (30-25, 30-25, 30-24) possible for a three-round fight.
“That was my most dominant performance to date,” the 29-year-old Dagestan native said afterwards.