[sigallery id=”RFxkPGG8FCpLXWJ833FQXV” title=”Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Darrell Horcher, UFC on FOX 19″ type=”sigallery”]
TAMPA, Fla. – For the first few moments of his catchweight fight with last-minute replacement Darrell Horcher, Khabib Nurmagomedov looked as though he had a little ring rust to knock loose.
Once free of that, however, Nurmagomedov (23-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) slammed Horcher (13-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to the mat and proceeded to do what he does best: grind, and in this case, finish.
The 160-pound catchweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC on FOX 19 event at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. It aired on FOX following prelims on FOX and UFC Fight Pass.
The fight came to an end at the 3:38 mark of the second round when referee James Waring had seen Horcher take enough punishment from the bottom, which is where he was trapped after the midpoint of the opening frame.
Nurmagomedov, the No. 2 ranked lightweight in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, needed a few minutes to get into the fight, taking a few straight lefts from Horcher, who stepped in for the injured top contender Tony Ferguson.
But with two minutes to spare, Nurmagomedov caught Horcher without an escape route and elevated him for a Matt Hughes-worthy walk across the octagon, ending, of course, in a big slam. From there, Nurmagomedov got to work. Despite achieving back mount, the Dagestan native ran out of time before he could end the night.
Things would get no better for Horcher in the second, with an early takedown setting up a crucifix that left Nurmagomedov unfettered access to the UFC newcomer’s skull. Horcher escaped the bad spot, only to find himself on his knees with Nurmagomedov, who mercilessly wailed away.
Afterward, Nurmagomedov, who remains unbeaten in 23 pro bouts, called out champ Rafael dos Anjos, over whom he holds a decision in a previous fight before injuries sidelined him for two years.
“I feel very happy,” Nurmagomedov said. “Thank you to my team for their support. I have a lot of respect for Darrell, especially after accepting this fight with such short notice. I am undefeated and it feels great to be back. I feel free. I make weight, I enter the octagon and I fight. This is MMA and I want to fight for the title next.”
With his rude welcome to the UFC’s octagon, Horcher sees a five-fight streak snapped.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 19 results include:
- Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Darrell Horcher via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:38
- Cub Swanson def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Michael Chiesa def. Beneil Dariush via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:20h
- Raquel Pennington def. Bethe Correia via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Court McGee via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:15
- Michael Graves def. Randy Brown via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:31
- John Dodson def. Manny Gamburyan via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:47
- Cezar Ferreira def. Oluwale Bamgbose via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Omari Akhmedov via TKO (knees) – Round 3, 3:03
For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 19, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on site in Tampa.)
