UFC 223 took the Barclays Center by storm last night and it lived up to the hype despite the myriad of issues that plagued the event. The fight scored an attendance of 17,026 for a live gate of $3,007,108.12 which set a new Barclays Center record for sporting events. This beat the previous record set by UFC 208.
The main event was eclipsed by the barnburner action between UFC strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas (8-3)and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-2) in the co-main event where Namajunas proved her first win was no fluke with her defeat over Joanna via unanimous decision.
Rose Namajunas vs Joanna Jdrzejczyk | HIGHLIGHTS | UFC 223
The UFC on FOX crew recaps the wild fight between Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jdrzejczyk on Saturday at UFC 223. SUBSCRIBE for more from UFC ON FOX: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeUFCONFOX Watch the latest content UFC on FOX content: http://foxs.pt/TheLatestonUFCONFOX Watch the latest from UFC Tonight: http://foxs.pt/UFCTonightonUFCONFOX TUF Talk: http://foxs.pt/TUFTalkonUFCONFOX FOX Sports YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeFOXSPORTS The Ultimate Fighter’s YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeTUF About UFC ON FOX: The official FOX Sports home of UFC coverage.
Sorry for not being as technical this time,” said Namajunas during the post-fight press conference. “I felt a little heavy but I got the job done, so its all good. Shes definitely one of the best kickboxers in the world but I train with one of the best to ever do it: Pat Barry. I believe her that she had a tough weight cut and it affected her last time but this one means Im just better.
UFC 223: Rose Namajunas Octagon Interview
Hear from strawweight champion Rose Namajunas after defending her belt for the first time and defeating former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the second time at UFC 223. Subscribe to get all the latest UFC content: http://bit.ly/2uJRzRR Experience UFC live with UFC FIGHT PASS, the digital subscription service of the UFC.
Namajunas took a unanimous decision from Jedrzejczyk in their rematch for the 115-pound title, giving Namajunas back-to-back wins over the former titleholder. Namajunas won with a trio of 49-46 scores. Namjunas was strong in the first two rounds, faded a bit in the third and fourth rounds, but came on strong in the last to retain her title. In the end, Namajunas defended her title and proved her greatness.
Khabib Nurmagomedovs (26-0) long journey to the UFC lightweight title came to a conclusion in the main event when he beat late replacement and original prelim fighter, Al Iaquinta (13-4-1) by decision. Nurmagomedov became the second Russian-born champion in UFC history, behind former heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Al Iaquinta | HIGHLIGHTS | UFC 223
The UFC on FOX crew recaps the main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Al Iaquinta in Brooklyn on Saturday. SUBSCRIBE for more from UFC ON FOX: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeUFCONFOX Watch the latest content UFC on FOX content: http://foxs.pt/TheLatestonUFCONFOX Watch the latest from UFC Tonight: http://foxs.pt/UFCTonightonUFCONFOX TUF Talk: http://foxs.pt/TUFTalkonUFCONFOX FOX Sports YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeFOXSPORTS The Ultimate Fighter’s YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeTUF About UFC ON FOX: The official FOX Sports home of UFC coverage.
I have to start by saying that I would not be here without my father,” said Khabib during the post-fight interview. Coach Javier has taught me so much. My team has made me the best in the world. There is not another team like us in the world. I keep trying to learn from them and be better.
“Its like Georges St-Pierre said, even when you are a black belt, you have to think like a white belt. And now, I want to fight Georges St-Pierre in November at Madison Square Garden. I want to say thank you to Iaquinta for stepping up and fighting. He is a real Brooklyn gangster. I want to fight the best. Right now, give me 30 minutes rest, drink a little water and I can fight with anyone. Doesnt matter.
His 26-fight winning streak is the longest among active UFC fighters and his nine-fight UFC winning streak in lightweight competition is the second-longest active streak in the division behind Tony Ferguson who has 10. Ferguson was supposed to be Nurmagomedov’s original opponent before he was injured. UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway stepped up on six days notice but could not make the weight cut down to 155lbs.
Iaquinta suffered the first decision loss of his career and earned the respect of millions for surviving and putting up a fight with Nurmagomedov even though he was severely overmatched. Some were critical of Khabib not finishing Iaquinta since he was so dominant and question his ability to keep the belt.
With Tony Ferguson and potentially Conor McGregor still out there, the lightweight division is shattered more records than the glass broken by McThugger.
