Abu Dhabi: Khabib Nurmagomedov showed himself to be the rarest of champion with a touching show of sportsmanship after submitting Dustin Poirier in the third round of their UFC 242 lightweight title unification fight at the YAS Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.
The Dagestan ‘Eagle’ dominated much of the contest and after weathering an attempt by Poirier to beat him at his own game on the ground, secured a deadly rear naked choke at 2:06 seconds in round three.
With this victory the Russian cemented his legacy as one of the greatest fighters that Mixed Martial Arts has ever produce.
“I know that Dustin has a lot of charities so I’m going to auction this T Shirt that I’m wearing and send all the money to Dustin for his charities,” he said in the Octagon.
“UFC is all about respect and I appreciated all the respect that I got from Dustin in the build up to this fight No trash talking like the other guy (conor McGregor). I really appreciate it.”
Poirier was in tears as he apologized to his fans for losing and said that hopefully he will come back stronger in the future.