Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Dustin Poirier Official For Abu Dhabi
Khabib Nurmagomedov officially has a date set for his UFC return. He will be defending his belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242.
Following his bout with Conor McGregor, and subsequent melee, Khabib was expected to be sidelined for a bit. This is not an ideal situation for a UFC champion. Naturally, the UFC decided to put together a bout for the Interim Lightweight Championship.
Enter Dustin Poirier, who would face Max Holloway at UFC 236 for the aforementioned interim belt. He would dominate Holloway, earning a unanimous decision victory. This was Poirier’s first crack at UFC gold, in his nearly decade-long career.
Now, the UFC Lightweight Belt will be unified. It was announced by Dana White, via SportsCenter, that the bout has been made official. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani tweeted shortly after.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier for the UFC lightweight title is official for Sept. 7 in Abu Dhabi, per Dana White moments ago on @SportsCenter.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 4, 2019
“Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier for the UFC lightweight title is official for Sept. 7 in Abu Dhabi, per Dana White moments ago on @SportsCenter.”
This bout marks the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi. It will be the promotion’s first time there since 2010. It also starts a stream of future events to come, for the region.
This will be Khabib Nurmagomedov’s second title defense. It is also his first bout since defeating Conor McGregor in November.
Dustin Poirier on the other hand, is riding a 4-fight win streak. He experienced a resurgence in his career since moving to 155lbs.
Currently, there are no other bouts announced for the UFC 242 card. However, it seems like a safe bet this bout is the main event. UFC 242 takes place September 7th, in Abu Dhabi.
