Khabib Nurmogomedov retained his lightweight championship at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, September 7 and was all class afterward. After finding himself in some trouble following his stunt after defeating Conor McGregor which caused a fight to break out in the crowd, Nurmagomedov showed that he has nothing but respect for Dustin Poirier, who he defeated by third-round submission.
Nurmagomedov wore a Dustin Poirier t-shirt in the cage during post-fight interviews and promised to donate to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation.
UFC president Dana White will also be matching any donation.
“Why I wear this t-shirt, I know that’s going to go to a lot of charity stuff, guys, make sure I’m going to sell this t-shirt, all this money I’m going to send Dustin Poirier,” Nurmagomedov said, as transcribed by Sporting News. “This is what I want, you know, and why we have so much respect between us before the fight than my last fight? You know (McGregor) was bulls— guy, I have to work (with) a lot of crazy stuff, but I want to forget everything.
“We show really what is MMA. MMA’s No. 1 thing is respect. When you come (to) gym, first thing what your coach, everybody teach you, hey, you have to respect gym, you have to respect teammates, coaches, you have to clean your gym, everything’s about respect. MMA’s not about trash talking, you know, this is what we show it with, that’s important.”
Poirier’s founding works with Fight for the Forgotten to support Batwa Pygmy children who watched the only water source at their school and orphanage destroyed by a recent flood. Fight for the Forgotten is an initiative that was started by fellow mixed martial arts fighter and former The Ultimate Fighter contestant Justin Wren.
It’s great to see the fighters coming together for such an important cause.
If you missed out on UFC 242 over the weekend, we have you covered. A full look at the results from the pay-per-view event can be seen below.
UFC 242 Results
- Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Dustin Poirier via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:06
- Paul Felder def. Edson Barboza via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27)
- Islam Makhachev def. Davi Ramos via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Curtis Blaydes def. Shamil Abdurakhimov via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:22
- Diego Ferreira def. Mairbek Taisumov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Joanne Calderwood def. Andrea Lee via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
- Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Lerone Murphy declared split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
- Sarah Moras def. Liana Jojua via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:26
- Ottman Azaitar def. Teemu Packalen via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:33
- Belal Muhammad def. Takashi Sato via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:55
- Muslim Salikhov def. Nordine Taleb via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:26
- Omari Akhmedov def. Zak Cummings via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Don Madge def. Fares Ziam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)