UFC 229: McGregor taps out, Khabib champ ... and then the after-fight
Daniel AustinMore from Daniel Austin
Updated: October 6, 2018 11:38 PM MDT
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Khabib Nurmagomedov, right, tries to take down Conor McGregor during a lightweight title mixed martial arts bout at UFC 229 in Las Vegas, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018.John Locher / AP
LAS VEGAS — Khabib Nurmagomedov took Conor McGregor down.
He also dropped him with a punch.
He did exactly what he said he was going to do, and McGregor had no response.
Then, in the fourth round, he forced him to tap out with a rear-naked choke.
That should have been the end of it, Nurmagomedov had just won the biggest fight in UFC history.
But instead, all hell broke loose.
Nurmagomedov jumped out of the cage and went after McGregor's team, sparking a massive cage-side brawl between entourages for both teams.
McGregor's teammate, Dillon Danis was involved, as was Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Police and security immediately stormed in the fight threatened to spill into the crow.
Charges will surely be laid, and both fighters will face hefty fines.
It was the latest escalation in the dangerous feud between the two lightweights and their teams, as McGregor was arrested for attacking a bus that was carrying Nurmagomedov in April.
THE ACTUAL FIGHT
AFTER months of build-up, McGregor's return to the octagon was an ugly one, as the Irish never really showed off his supposedly superior striking.
He certainly didn't knock Nurmagomedov out in the first or second round, as he'd predicted.
Instead, McGregor met his match in Nurmagomedov, a relentless wrestler whose world-class grappling has defeated all 27 opponents that the fight game has put in his way.
Nurmagomedov mauled his way through McGregor and finished the fight with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round.
It was a dominant performance that confirmed Nurmagomedov's place atop the UFC's lightweight pyramid.
McGregor's punching power was supposed to be too much for him, but it can be argued that Nurmagomedov was actually better when the fight was standing on Saturday, especially in the second-round when he dropped him.
But it was on the mat where the Russian did most of his work, repeatedly taking McGregor down and then battering him with ground-and-pound
It was a sublime performance, but one that will unfortunately be overshadowed by the ugliness that came after.
Anthony Pettis and Tony Ferguson kept smiling.
Somehow, even as they delivered strike after strike and seemed to have each other on the verge of being knocked out, the two lightweights would pause for the briefest of moments and smile at each other.
They were loving it, apparently, fighting in the co-main event of arguably the biggest card in UFC history.
Ferguson could easily have been fighting for the belt on Saturday night had a freak knee injury not forced him to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov in April.
Instead, here he was, competing in the warm-up act to Nurmagomedov's big fight against Conor McGregor.
In the end, two rounds of frantic back-and-forth action was stopped when Pettis' corner decided to stop the fight because of a broken hand
"I had f—ing fun in there, nobody is going to take this from me," Ferguson said.
It would be difficult to describe the fight's action, as there was almost too much of it to fit into a newspaper write-up.
Ferguson relentlessly circled Pettis in the early-going, peppering him with shots and building up the damage.
Pettis didn't back off an inch, though, and when he found his openings he hit with power and precision.
In the second round, he even knocked Ferguson to the mat and seemed to be going for the finish, although he explained afterwards that it was this exchange where he broke his hand.
It didn't slow him down much, though. Both guys kept moving forward and throwing nasty combinations that had the crowd going wild.
It was a smart decision by Pettis' corner to save him, but don't be surprised if the UFC books a rematch sometime down the road. Fans will always be left wondering how much crazier an already insane fight might have gotten in the third round.
THE BEAST IS BACK
The last time Derrick Lewis stepped into the octagon he faced off against Francis Ngannou and fight fans were graced with one of the most mind-numblingly boring fights of all time.
Lewis promised it would never happen again, and he delivered on his promise in just about the most spectacular way possible.
The Houston-native was down badly on the scorecards and taking a serious beating from Alexander Volkov. By any measure, the fight looked done.
As the clock ticked down in the third round, though, Lewis – who had looked completely gassed – found some hidden reserve of energy and moved in on Volkov.
He threw an overhand right with power and purpose. The haymaker connected with Volkov's chin, and the fight was over.
Lewis landed a couple of follow-up punches on the ground and the fight was stopped with 11 seconds on the clock, securing one of the great comebacks in recent MMA history.
UNBELIEVABLE!@TheBeast_UFC leaves the crowd in SHOCK! #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/8R4vWu5uRK
— UFC (@ufc) October 7, 2018
Given his undeniable star power and the highlight-reel nature of Saturday night's knockout over a legitimate contender, there's a case to be made that Lewis should be next in line for a shot at Daniel Cormier's heavyweight title. It's a strong case, but Lewis was having one of it.
"I need to sit my black a—down and do some more cardio," Lewis said. "I ain't trying to fight for no title right now with no gas tank like that."
Lewis is probably right that his cardio needs work, but his chin remains as strong as anyone in the game. He was on the receiving end of some big punches from Volkov on Saturday, but he somehow survived.
Then, he delivered on his promise and restored his reputation as one of the UFC's must-see heavyweights.
Jussier Formiga may have won his fight against Sergio Pettis on Saturday night, but he probably didn't win over many fans.
Formiga did what was needed against Pettis, using his superior grappling to keep control of the fight for the better part of three rounds.
It was a win over a high-end, highly-ranked opponent, but Formiga did very little damage when he did take the fight to the ground and his performance was met with a shower of boos from the fans at T-Mobile Arena.
"I am very happy to have the win but, of course, that comes with some frustrations," Formiga said. "I took my time to figure him out in the first round and then my corner started to give me the advice I needed to take control. Once I started landing the takedown, I knew I had what it took to win the second and third rounds."
With so many eyeballs glued to UFC 229 – it was expected to be the highest-selling event in MMA history – Formiga and Pettis both had the chance to rise to the occasion and make a name for themselves.
Neither guy managed to pull it off, so don't expect the UFC to push Formiga into a title shot anytime soon.
Sergio Pettis (R) punches Jussier Formiga of Brazil (L) in their flyweight bout during the UFC 229 event inside T-Mobile Arena on October 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harry How / Getty Images
It's time to start paying attention to Aspen Ladd.
At only 23-years-old and with just two UFC fights on her resume, Ladd is far from being a household name.
That may change soon.
On Saturday night, Ladd put in a completely dominant performance against Tonya Evinger, a former champion in all-female Invicta promotion and a fighter whose last appearance in the octagon was in a featherweight title fight against Cris 'Cyborg' Justino.
None of that mattered once the cage door was locked, though, as Ladd completely and totally dominated Evinger and used some vicious ground-and-pound to secure a first-round TKO.
It was her second straight stoppage victory, and she's already been rocketing up the UFC's official rankings. She currently sits at No. 9 in the bantamweight division, but expect her to be much higher by the end of the week.
She's going to get a big-name opponent next, and if she wins that one nobody should be surprised if she's fighting for a title by the end of 2019.
Aspen Ladd has a choke hold on Tonya Evinger in their women's bantamweight bout during the UFC 229 event inside T-Mobile Arena on October 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harry How / Getty Images
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Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, 155 lbs. title fight
Anthony Pettis vs. Tony Ferguson
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes
Derrick Lewis def Alexander Volkov via third round TKO
Michelle Waterson def. Felice Herrig via unanimous decision
Jussier Formiga def. Sergio Pettis via unanimous decision
Vicente Luque def. Jalin Turner via first round KO
Aspen Ladd def. Tonya Evinger via first round TKO
Yana Kunitskaya def. Lina Lansberg via unanimous decision
Scott Holtzman def. Alan Patrick via third round KO
Nik Lentz def. Gray Maynard via second round TKO
Tony Martin def. Ryan LaFlare via third round TKO
Quickhitters: Smith, Brescacin return to lead Stamps