The last Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event of 2017 was certainly fit for the New Year's celebration as UFC 219 gave the fans some very explosive matches.
The two main events headlined by favorites Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino Venâncio and Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov were fireworks displays in their own right, with Justino defeating former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in a slugfest, and Nurmagomedov dominating the always game Edson Barboza.
Holm actually surprised the crowd by standing toe to toe against her bigger opponent, even managing to pelt the Brazilian with straight lefts early in the fight. Justino's strength would not be denied, however, as she started to brush aside Holm's attacks and land powerful strikes of her own. The American eventually got the worst of the exchanges from the middle round to the fifth, resulting in a unanimous decision win for Justino.
Holm was taken to the hospital after the fight due to her left eye being closed shut from taking heavy blows. No serious damage has been reported.
Nurmagomedov did not leave any room for Barboza to breathe from the first round. "The Eagle" fired on all cylinders and was pounding on his opponent as if he was owed a lot of money. Nurmagomedov also won the fight by unanimous decision.
Their respective wins improve their UFC records to four wins and one loss for Justino, and nine wins with no losses for Nurmagomedov.
The wins also opened the doors to bigger matches for both fighters. Justino has recently been called out by Australian Meghan Anderson, saying that she has never faced a "legitimate" featherweight. However, Justino stated that she also wants to fight fellow Brazilian Amanda Nunes.
Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, will definitely be in UFC's radar as a potential opponent for the promotion's top star Conor McGregor. He could also choose to face Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson as well, since their fight has never materialized due to injuries.
