UNDEFEATED Khabib Nurmagomedov won the UFC lightweight title after dominating underdog and late replacement Al Iaquinta.
After a eventful build up to the UFC 223 card in Brooklyn, Khabib won by unanimous decision to relinquish the belt Conor McGregor held.
Iaquinta stepped in after Tony Ferguson was injured and his replacement Max Holloway didn’t make the weight.
Khabib thanked Iaquinta for taking the fight at short notice and hit out at McGregor.
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He said: “It’s crazy, 26-0, 10 wins in the UFC and lightweight champion.
“Thank you Iaquinta, other guys didn’t want to take this fight. He is a real Brooklyn gangster.
“He is not a chicken, he comes here, where is Conor?
“He wants to fight with bus, I want to fight with real gangsters.”
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Khabib cruised past Iaquinta to a points victory with the judges scoring the fight 50-43, 50-43 and 50-44.
The undefeated Russian didn’t manage to get a stoppage but was still good enough to claim the title McGregor was forced to give up.
McGregor was stripped of the title because he hasn’t fought in the UFC since he won the lightweight belt against Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 at UFC 205.
McGregor’s last fight was in a boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather in August last year when he lost in the 10th round via a TKO.
Khabib remains undefeated with this 26th straight win, and his 10th straight victory in the UFC.
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