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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s 13-year-old record was nearly broken at UFC Vegas 114
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- Khabib Nurmagomedov’s 13-year-old record was nearly broken at UFC Vegas 114
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Myktybek Orolbai's showing on Saturday night came close to toppling a major milestone set by 'The Eagle'.
The welterweight prospect continued his rise at UFC Vegas 114, getting the better of former ranked middleweight Chris Curtis. While the judges were split, two of them gave him a clean sweep.
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Orolbai took the fight over through his grappling and ground control, though Curtis wasn't exactly thrilled about how things played out.
Even so, it was another solid step forward for Orolbai, who also put himself in elite company with that victory.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's record was almost toppled by Myktybek Orolbai
Orolbai came within one round of equalling a UFC record for most consecutive rounds won to start a career, but just missed out after he dropped round three to Curtis on one judge's card. He didn't seem too bothered by it afterwards.
"I'm very happy. I'm very excited. It was a hard fight with a big guy, and thank you so much, Chris, for coming and standing here with me", he said after the fight.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Myktybek Orolbai Nearly Matches Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC Takedown Record
Orolbai stood out on the same card that saw Kevin Vallejos knock out Josh Emmett on March 14, picking up a clear-cut win over Curtis.
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All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favour of the 28-year-old, with Curtis' inability to stop takedowns being a major factor.
The Kyrgyz fighter landed 19 takedowns over three rounds, setting a new record for the welterweight division.
He fell just short of surpassing the overall record held by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili, but still joined them in rare company. Dvalishvili recorded 20 takedowns against Cory Sandhagen last October, while Nurmagomedov set the all-time mark with 21 against Abel Trujillo back in 2013.
The win at UFC Vegas 114 was Orolbai's second straight since returning to welterweight. He improved to 5-1 in the promotion, with his only loss coming in a catchweight bout against Mateusz Rebecki earlier this year.
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Before his win over Curtis, Orolbai had already made an impact by knocking out Jack Hermansson in his return to the division.
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