UFC: Vladimir Putin Breaks Down Khabib Nurmagomedov's 'Chokehold' On Dustin Poirier At UFC 242

Russian president Vladimir Putin personally commended Khabib’s “chokehold” on Dustin Poirier at UFC 242.

Shortly after Russian MMA star Khabib Nurmagomedov’s impressive submission win over Poirier, Putin personally congratulated him. Khabib went to the meeting with his father, who also happened to be cageside during the said title fight.

The full meeting was uploaded on YouTube where Putin could be seen very happy for Khabib’s victory. In fact, Putin even discussed Khabib’s fight and expressed his admiration over the UFC lightweight champ’s execution of the “rear naked choke.”

According to Putin, Poirier was a strong fighter and a top-level fighter because of his humility even after defeat.

“a well-deserved win against a worthy opponent, a strong fighter. a top-level athlete is supposed to be like that,” Putin said about Poirier.

The Russian president then looked back at Khabib’s win and repeatedly praised the way he perpetrated the choke on Poirier.

“It’s a convincing victory I watched it, you did great. Great chokehold. A classic chokehold, you did it right,” Putin emphasized.

After a few moments, Putin once again broke down the choke and said that the pressure Khabib put on Poirier’s throat was just right and he squeezed it the right way.

“Not too much pressure on his throat, no lie I saw it. You squeezed properly from both sides. It was all fair,” Putin analyzed.

Khabib on his part, responded by revealing that he was trying to figure out how to submit his opponent during the early rounds. According to the UFC champ, he wanted to get a hold on Poirier’s jaw but Poirier kept on slipping away. After the said revelation, Putin wondered if Poirier being slippery had become one of the challenges Khabib encountered during the fight.

Khabib’s father backed his son’s statement up and revealed that oil is being used by fighters as a “trick” to slip away from being submitted.

“It (Oil) dries when it’s hot, you sweat and the oil slides down your body,” Khabib’s father revealed.

Putin recognized that Poirier was a bit taller than Khabib and asked if his fellow Russian countrymen viewed the size disadvantages as one of the challenges in the fight. Khabib admitted that as soon as Poirier stepped inside the cage, he knew that he was much stronger than he expected.

“He (Poirier) wasn’t weaker physically, I realized I had to work him out,” Khabib admitted.

Meanwhile, Poirier took to Instagram his thoughts after losing against Khabib. According to Poirier, he had no excuses and regrets towards the said loss and he is ready to move on with his career.

“Everything happens for a reason. This is my journey and it’s unique. Thank you Khabib for another tough life lesson. No excuses no regrets. Gonna take my lumps and keep it moving,” Poirier wrote.