A new undisputed UFC lightweight champion was crowned on Saturday night after Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated short-notice replacement Al Iaquinta at UFC 223.
Despite the Russian’s dominant performance in Brooklyn, his division remains shrouded in uncertainty. Two other lightweight champions lost their UFC belts without even stepping inside the Octagon. Dana White says to be “the man”, you have to beat the man, but Nurmagomedov never got the opportunity to fight either of them.
Bizarrely, three fighters have been crowned lightweight champion in the past 18 months, but none have faced one another.