UFC 165 results, photos: Khabib Nurmagomedov outworks Pat Healy, stays perfect

TORONTO – Pat Healy was constant motion for much of the fight, but Khabib Nurmagomedov was just too much.

Nurmagomedov stayed unbeaten in his MMA career with a unanimous decision win over Healy, getting a sweep of the judges’ scorecards with a trio of 30-27s.

The lightweight bout opened up the main card of today’s UFC 165 event at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook.

Healy pressed forward early with a left hand, but Nurmagomedov answered with a left hook of his own. Healy tried to keep the center of the cage and kept the Russian backing up early, and they traded jabs and hooks in constant motion. Nurmagomedov tried a pair of flying knees, and then landed a good uppercut. Healy ate some punches, but he kept constant pressure on Nurmagomedov, seemingly unafraid of his opponent’s unpredictable striking. With 30 seconds left, Nurmagomedov landed a short takedown, but Healy was back up quickly and continued throwing. Nurmagomedov landed two good shots at the bell for good measure in a competitive round, but one the Russian took.

In the second, Healy again came out swinging and keeping pressure on. And 30 seconds in, Nurmagomedov tried to take the fight to the ground. Healy defended, but ate three lefts on the fence. Nurmagomedov managed to get his shots off despite backing up from Healy’s pressure, and midway through the round, Healy tagged him with a pair as Nurmagomedov started to look labored in his movement. Nurmagomedov continued to work for takedowns to get the fight into his world, but Healy was able to keep his time there minimized. But with 30 seconds left, Nurmagomedov drilled a good takedown to try to steal what was a much closer round.

Healy defended the early takedown attempt from Nurmagomedov in the third, then blocked a pair of high kicks. A minute in, though, Nurmagomedov again was able to get Healy to the ground. When Healy finally was able to get back to his feet, “The Eagle” scooped “Bam Bam” up and delivered a big bam of his own, carrying him across the cage and power slamming him to the canvas. And that’s where Nurmagomedov spent the rest of the fight, stifling a tired Healy on the canvas.

After the fight, Healy said he wants a lightweight title shot. The American Kickboxing Academy-trained fighter will have to wait in line behind one of his teammates, though – Josh Thomson has the first shot at new champ Anthony Pettis in December.

“Listen to me, UFC and Canada. There’s a gentleman 21-0, 5-0 in the UFC,” Nurmagomedov said of himself. “UFC, give me a title shot. I’m ready.”

“I lost, and I don’t feel good about it,” Healy said. “Not much else I can say.”

Nurmagomedov (21-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) remained unbeaten in his pro career and moved to 5-0 in the UFC’s lightweight division. Healy (29-17 MMA, 0-2 UFC) lost for the first time since a June 2010 loss to Josh Thomson in Strikeforce.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 165 results include:

• Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Myles Jury def. Mike Ricci via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Wilson Reis def. Ivan Menjivar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28
• Stephen Thompson def. Chris Clements via KO (punches) – Round 2, 1:27
• Mitch Gagnon def. Dustin Kimura via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:05
• John Makdessi def. Renee Forte via KO (punches) – Round 1, 2:01
• Michel Prazeres def. Jesse Ronson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Alex Caceres def. Roland Delorme via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Daniel Omielanczuk def. Nandor Guelmino via KO (punches) – Round 3, 3:18

For complete coverage of UFC 165, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan, Ben Fowlkes and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on-site in Toronto.