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Retired UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov lost the third round in his UFC 229 grudge match against Conor McGregor. It is the only round that the former champ lost in his entire fighting career.
The round was not a blowout for McGregor, by any means, as Khabib Nurmagomedov proved his ability to trade shots with a superior striker without having to impose his dominant wrestling game. McGregor outstruck Nurmagomedov 34 to 15 in terms of significant strikes in the third round.
However, Nurmagomedov dominated every other round of the contest and ultimately defeated the Irishman via fourth-round submission to retain his UFC lightweight title.
Nurmagomedov also became the first fighter to knock Conor McGregor with strikes when he dropped the Irishman with an overhand right in the second round.
The first round of Khabib Nurmagomedov's final MMA fight was also a close one on the scorecards as two out of three judges scored the round in favor of his opponent Justin Gaethje.
However, unlike the Conor McGregor fight, the scoring was unanimously criticized by the MMA community as Nurmagomedov secured the takedown at the end of the high-paced round and almost finished Gaethje via a bicep slicer.
Winning a round against Khabib Nurmagomedov is a huge feat
Khabib Nurmagomedov's level of dominance in MMA is unparalleled as the wrestling powerhouse has won every other round and almost every exchange in his 29-fight career.
Winning a round against Khabib Nurmagomedov is perceived by some as one of the bigger achievements of Conor McGregor's fighting career.
Khabib Nuragomedov's retirement has ended any possibility of a rematch between the two fighters taking place. However, McGregor winning the round against Khabib is still one of the biggest talking points while discussing the Irishman's place in the current lightweight title picture.
While analyzing Dustin Poirier's dismissal of a potential trilogy fight with Conor McGregor happening for the lightweight title, former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen based his argument on Conor McGregor's performance against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
"I think if anybody has the right to an opinion of what's going on at 155lb, it's Dustin Poirier. But that logic is unhelpful to the sport. That's the kind of logic that gets us logjammed, where guys don't want to go out and fight other guys," said Sonnen.
"Conor McGregor became the first and the only athlete to win a round (against Khabib Nurmagomedov). That doesn't matter? Is it only the outcome?" asked Chael Sonnen.
