Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Edson Barboza: What will go down:

Can Edson do what 24 others have failed to do?

A hugely important Lightweight scrap in terms of the future of the division co-headlines UFC 219  this weekend, as Dagestan fan favourite and so far unconquerable Sambo specialist Khabib 'The Eagle' Nurmagomedov returns for the first time since his UFC 205 mauling of Michael Johnson, against Muay Thai practitioner and one of the most deadly strikers in MMA history, Edson Barboza. Khabib as mentioned earlier, survived an early first round shot from Johnson to secure multiple takedowns before cranking a tight Kimura, forcing the tap from the recent Featherweight mover. Brazil's Barboza on the other hand, managed to catch an aggressive Beneil Dariush with a flying knee after the grappler made a ultimately fatal level change.

Arguably the greatest Lightweight on earth right now, the crystal clean record of the Russian has done enough to back up this popular claim. Khabib hasn't avoided criticism in recent times though, pulling from his fourth attempted meeting with current Interim gold holder Tony 'El Cucuy' Ferguson back at UFC 209 due to weight cutting issues where there was dramatic concern for the liver and kidneys of the star, as the UFC hierarchy looked to finally determine an opponent to a possibly returning Conor McGregor, whose attention was firmly fixed on a boxing meeting with Floyd Mayweather. Besides that point, Khabib has well and truely steamrolled each and every opponent placed in front of him on his path to UFC gold. 'The Eagle' has smashed the likes of Abel Trujillo, Darrell Horcher, Gleison Tibau and maybe most impressively Rafael dos Anjos, be that a much greener 'RDA' from the powerhouse who's reinvention at Welterweight continued as he dismantled former Welterweight king Robbie Lawler over five minutes.

One of the most exciting and explosive fighters in Lightweight history, leg kick king and the holder of the premier wheel kick KO in UFC history, Edson Barboza is surely a sure thing for UFC gold in the next year or two. After a thrilling round of the year contender against the aforementioned Ferguson, a scramble in the second allowed the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu black belt to lock up a patented D'arce choke. The loss to 'El Cucuy' subsequently propelled Barboza to a current three fight win streak, in which he annihilated the thighs of both former champions Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez with those aforementioned leg kicks. Edson has incredibly finished 3 separate opponents with leg kicks, but his switch kicks have been descibed by Joe Rogan as 'the fastest I've (he's) ever seen'.

Khabib's main keys to a successful 25th bout is his obvious utilisation of his superior grappling and Sambo, while Edson must make the most of each and every opportunity that presents itself to shred the heavy lead leg of Nurmagomedov. Also, Barboza must look to finish the fight within the first round or two to avoid the smothering onslaught from Khabib in the final 5 minutes. The explosive stiffening KO of Benny Dariush may cause some concern for Khabib who may take a clinch approach to his wrestling than any traditional single or double leg approach.

Edson Barboza via knockout.

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