Russian UFC Champ Nurmagomedov’s win was "fair and square"

Ireland’s mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor announced that Russia’s Khabib Nurmagomedov had a "fair and square" win over him during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 229 lightweight belt bout in Las Vegas earlier this month.

UFC Champion Nurmagomedov defeated Ireland’s Conor McGregor during the UFC 229 tournament in Las Vegas on the night of October 6, defending his lightweight title with a choke in the 4th round of the fight.

The Irish fighter came up on his Instagram account with a round-to-round analysis of his encounter with Nurmagomedov saying that the Russian fighter seemed weaker and always tried to take him to the ground instead of stand up spars.

"I believe from a sport standpoint, round 1 was his," McGregor said. "Round 2 he is running away around the cage before being blessed with a right hand that changed the course of the round, and the fight. It was a nice shot."

"After the worst round [Round 3] of my fighting career, I come back and win this round," he said. "Again walking forward, walking him down, and willing to engage."

"Round 4 - My recovery was not where it could have been here. That is my fault," McGregor stated. "I work to regain position and end up upright, with my back to the fence. A stable position. However, I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square."

McGregor also stated that "It was a great fight and it was my pleasure," adding that "I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared."

The victory over McGregor was the 11th in Nurmagomedov’s career in the UFC. The Russian defeated his opponents in all of his 27 fights. The 30-year-old Nurmagomedov, hailing from Russia’s North Caucasus Region of Dagestan, was the first Russian to win the UFC champion title during the fight against his US opponent Al Iaquinta this April.

On April 8, Nurmagomedov defeated his US opponent Al Iaquinta in a five-round fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight belt in New York.

Nurmagomedov became the first Russian to be awarded the UFC champion title. The 29-year-old Russian clinched the 26th victory in his career with no defeats, while Al Iaquinta suffered his fourth defeat with 13 victories and one draw.