Cris 'Cyborg' Justino decisions Holly Holm at UFC 219

LAS VEGAS – Holly Holm gave Cris “Cyborg” Justino the longest fight of her career. She just didn’t have enough to knock off yet another MMA star.

Justino used power strikes and kicks to beat Holm by unanimous decision and defend her featherweight belt at UFC 219 on Saturday night.

Judges scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47, extending Justino’s unbeaten streak to 19 with a victory over a former bantamweight champion with a knack for big upsets. It was the first time that Justino was taken five rounds in her career.

This was Justino’s first defense of the featherweight belt since earning it by beating Tonya Evinger at UFC 214.

“I’m ready for anyone they put in front of me,” Justino said.

The fighters exchanged early punches, standing toe-to-toe for much of the first round. Justino (19-1) was able to land some bigger strikes, including a solid right hook that was the best punch of the opening round.

The second round went similarly before Justino pressed forward in the third with a solid right cross and a number of kicks. She finished the third with a flurry of punches and continued to hold a slight edge the rest of the way in a tight bout.

Holm’s face was beat up by the end, although neither fighter appeared seriously injured. Holm (11-4) was trying for another marquee victory in a career highlighted by her upset of Ronda Rousey in 2015.

Earlier in the night, Khabib Nurmagomedov remained undefeated and staked a claim for a lightweight title shot with a dominant unanimous decision over Edson Barboza.

The second-ranked Nurmagomedov received winning scores of 30-25, 30-25 and 30-24 from the judges. Nurmagomedov improved to 25-0 overall and 9-0 in the UFC. Barboza fell to 19-5.

“Wow, 25-0, I feel great,” Nurmagomedov  said. “He’s one of the best strikers in the UFC, it was a tough 15 minutes.”

Current lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s fight status is unknown and interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson is the only other man standing in Khabib’s way of a title shot.