We tend to overstate the implications of a big fight in the MMA space, but Khabib Nurmagomedov ’s victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 was felt worldwide. It was big in the Middle East, which Nurmagomedov proved himself an icon. it was big in Nurmagomedov’s Russian homeland, where reportedly 26 million people watched the fight. It’s big back here in North America, where the ramifications of the lightweight champion’s decisive victory is being felt by the sport’s deepest division
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