UFC 223 Results: Khabib vs. Iaquinta

Khabib Nurmagomedov won the undisputed lightweight championship at UFC 223 on April 7, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Rose Namajunas retained the strawweight title on a card reshaped by injuries, medical withdrawals and a fight-week bus attack.

View the official UFC 223 event archive on UFC.com.

Nurmagomedov wins after repeated opponent changes

Tony Ferguson was originally scheduled to face Nurmagomedov, but a knee injury removed him from the main event. Max Holloway stepped in before being withdrawn on weigh-in day, and Al Iaquinta ultimately moved from his scheduled undercard bout into the headliner.

Against Iaquinta, Nurmagomedov used early takedowns and control to establish a clear advantage. Iaquinta continued competing through all five rounds, but the judges unanimously awarded the fight to Nurmagomedov.

The result made Nurmagomedov the undisputed lightweight champion. The event’s uncertain buildup did not leave its final outcome uncertain: after twenty-five minutes, the vacant championship had a new holder.

Namajunas wins the Jedrzejczyk rematch

Namajunas’s first victory over Joanna Jedrzejczyk had ended by first-round TKO at UFC 217. Their rematch at UFC 223 instead required a complete five-round performance from the defending champion.

Namajunas won a unanimous decision to retain the strawweight belt. The different route to victory mattered: she followed a rapid upset with a successful championship-distance defense against the same opponent.

Moicano and Magomedsharipov win on the main card

Renato Moicano defeated Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision, and Zabit Magomedsharipov received the same verdict against Kyle Bochniak. Chris Gruetzemacher stopped Joe Lauzon after the second round when Lauzon’s corner ended the fight.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz earned a split decision over Felice Herrig. Olivier Aubin-Mercier stopped Evan Dunham in 53 seconds, while Ashlee Evans-Smith and Devin Clark won unanimous decisions.

The reduced card follows fight-week disruption

The bus attack following media day injured fighters and led to the removal of Michael Chiesa–Anthony Pettis and Ray Borg–Brandon Moreno. Artem Lobov was also removed from his scheduled fight with Alex Caceres. Those canceled matchups are part of the buildup, but none belongs in the completed results. Nine fights took place on the final card.

Complete UFC 223 results

• Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Al Iaquinta — unanimous decision, R5, 5:00; vacant lightweight title.
• Rose Namajunas defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk — unanimous decision, R5, 5:00; strawweight title.
• Renato Moicano defeated Calvin Kattar — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Zabit Magomedsharipov defeated Kyle Bochniak — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Chris Gruetzemacher defeated Joe Lauzon — TKO (corner stoppage), R2, 5:00.
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz defeated Felice Herrig — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeated Evan Dunham — TKO (knees and punches), R1, 0:53.
• Ashlee Evans-Smith defeated Bec Rawlings — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Devin Clark defeated Mike Rodriguez — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.

Sources

UFC 223 official fight reports; Event results record.

Article Tags

UFC, UFC 223, Mixed Martial Arts