Khabib Nurmagomedov V Tony Ferguson: What will go down:

Khabib could be one win from facing 'Irish Chicken' McGregor in unification battle.

Arguably, the most exciting Lightweight matchup for some time takes place this Saturday at UFC 209, as Dagestan Sambo specialist Khabib Nurmagomedov takes on supreme grappler Tony 'El Cucuy' Ferguson, with the winner, walking away with the Interim Lightweight title, ahead of a unification showdown with undisputed king Conor McGregor. Both men have been on splendid form, Khabib is still obviously unbeaten in his professional MMA career, holding a 24-0 record, while 'El Cucuy' last time picked up a dominant decision win over former champ Rafael Dos Anjos, to extend his incredible win streak to a staggering 9. Coincidentally, Ferguson's most recent loss came at the hands of Michael Johnson, the man who Khabib submitted at UFC 205, via a expertly applied Kimura. Nurmagomedov really displayed his nerves of steel throughout the tough contest. After being stung in the first round exchanges, 'The Eagle' then exacted a wrestling clinic to force the fight out of Johnson, telling 'The Menace' that he must tap as he knew he deserved a shot at the title, and later told, how he was extremely cautious when applying the fight winning Kimura, as not to severely damage the arm of Michael Johnson. With both men fantastic grapplers, expect this bout to finish on the mat. Nurmagomedov, unlike Ferguson, can brawl on the canvas and lay down some strikes from the top, evident from his early takedowns and strikes landed against Johnson. Ferguson isn't to be underestimated when it comes to throwing down on the feet nevertheless, finishing 9 fights via knockout. A brown belt in BJJ, 'El Cucuy' is a product of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under the world renowned Eddie Bravo. A favourite submission of the Californian, is of course his patented D'Arce, which he has used to successfully put away Lando Vannata, Edson Barboza and Mike Rio in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Tony is also known for his unusual leg lock setup rolls, which sees him roll to the mat, catching the opponents foot before tripping him to the mat. The main keys which would see a Khabib victory, would be unrelenting pressure and utilisation of his Sambo, and keeping active enough on the feet to find a finish. Ferguson on the otherhand, must look to keep 'The Eagle' from landing a takedown, with clever strikes and to sweep the Dagestan native when on the mat, to set up a choke win.

Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission.

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