Justin Scoggins and Said Nurmagomedov engaged in a battle of flyweights at UFC Boise, with Said winning a close fight in his debut. It wasn’t a popular decision, mind you.
It’s hard to follow in another person’s footsteps. Especially when that person is a world champion. That’s exactly what Said Nurmagomedov looked to do at UFC Boise, and follow in his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov’s footsteps to become a success in the biggest fight promotion in the world. His first test would be UFC veteran Justin Scoggins. Scoggins had lost two fights in a row but has had much success in the UFC, and was seen as a bright prospect at flyweight once upon a time. In Idaho, he looked to show he could still be a big deal in the 125 pound weight class.
A big part of Scoggins success had to do with his movement. Clearly aware, Nurmagomedov attempted to get in on him and pressure him, but Scoggins used a variety of angles to avoid that and keep Said off of him. He also used a good mix of kicks, from question mark kicks to spinning back kicks that were successful, not to mention showing skill with his hands. In the second round, however, Said was dropped as Scoggins threw a left hook as he was moving back that dropped him.
A controversial moment came when Said scored a takedown. As he was working in the guard of Scoggins and landing strikes, the referee stood them up. To make it worse, he was mid strike as he was stood up. Nonetheless, that was Said’s big moment of success in the bout and could’ve actually won the bout for the debuting Russian. Still, many had it 29-28 for Scoggins. Not the judges, however. Two saw it for Nurmagomedov in the end.
Said Nurmagomedov def. Justin Scoggins by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
