The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be returning to Abu Dhabi later this year for UFC 242. The event features a bout between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim titleholder Dustin Poirier in a title unification bout.
Nurmagomedov had his most recent outing was his fourth-round submission win over McGregor at UFC 229 in Las Vegas where he retained his title on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018.
With the win, Khabib advanced to 27-0 in his professional career. His 27 consecutive wins gives him the longest winning streak in all of mixed martial arts. Khabib first won the vacant lightweight championship on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223 when he scored a dominant decision win over Al Iaquinta in Brooklyn, New York. He became the first Russian to win a UFC title. The submission victory over McGregor was his first title defense.
The Dagestani champion became the first Russian and first Muslim to win a UFC championship thanks in large part to his training by his father, Abdulmanap. His father was a wrestler and trained in judo and sambo in the military before converting the ground floor of Nurmagomedov’s home into a gym. Khabib developed into two-time Combat Sambo World Champion before joining the UFC.
Poirier claimed the interim championship with an incredible effort against featherweight champion Max Holloway at UFC 236 in April 2019. He is currently on a five-fight winning streak which includes wins over former lightweight champions Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis.
Ahead of their highly-anticipated matchup, Nurmagomedov and Poirier will come face to face in London for a press conference that will ramp up the excitement for the bout.
You can check out the press conference live beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IigEjuUlpIs
Ahead of one of the most highly anticipated match ups of the year, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champion Dustin Poirier will take part in a press conference in central London to discuss their upcoming title bout.
UFC 242 Fight Card
- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier – for the lightweight championship
- Islam Makhachev vs. Davi Ramos
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov
- Mairbek Taisumov vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
Additional bouts will be added to the event in the upcoming weeks.
