Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino defends belt by decision but Holly Holm makes her work for it over five rounds at UFC 219 in Las Vegas
Brazil-born champion extends unbeaten run to 19 fights as challenger falls short of another trademark upset in closely scored fight
Cris “Cyborg” Justino used power strikes and kicks to beat Holly Holm by unanimous decision and defend her featherweight belt at UFC 219 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Judges scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47, extending Justino’s unbeaten streak to 19 with a victory over a former bantamweight champion with a knack for big upsets. It was the first time that Brazil-born Justino was taken five rounds in her career.
Holm’s face was beat up by the end, although neither fighter appeared seriously injured. The 36-year-old American (11-4) was trying for another marquee victory in a career highlighted by her upset of Ronda Rousey in 2015.
Earlier in the night, Khabib Nurmagomedov remained undefeated and staked a claim for a lightweight title shot with a dominant unanimous decision over Edson Barboza.
The second-ranked Nurmagomedov received winning scores of 30-25, 30-25 and 30-24 from the judges. Nurmagomedov improved to 25-0 overall and 9-0 in the UFC. Barboza fell to 19-5.
Current lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s fight status is unknown and interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson is the only other man standing in Khabib’s way of a title shot.
Khabib forced the action to start the second round, continuing to pummel Barboza as he stalked him across the octagon. Nurmagomedov secured another takedown late in the round and again neutralised Barboza while inflicting a great deal of damage until the end of the round.
Khabib had Barboza pressed against the fence for the first half of the final round and secured yet another takedown, completely limiting Barboza’s ability to attack while cruising through the end of the round.
Also, former strawweight champion Carla Esparza earned a hard-fought decision victory, handing sixth-ranked Cynthia Calvillo her first professional loss, and 12th-ranked Neil Magny topped former interim welterweight champ Carlos Condit by unanimous decision.