Khabib Nurmagomedov

A two-time Combat Sambo World Champion, Nurmagomedov has a background in the disciplines of sambo, judojudo and wrestlingwrestling. He is widely regarded as the greatest lightweight in the history of mixed martial arts. Nurmagomedov was ranked #1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings at the time of his retirement, until being removed following his title vacation in March 2021. Fight Matrix ranks him as the #1 lightweight of all time.

In 2001, his family moved to Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, where he trained in wrestling from the age of 12, and judojudo from 15. He resumed training in combat sambo, under his father, at 17. According to Nurmagomedov, the transition from wrestling to judo was difficult, but his father wanted him to get used to competing in a gi jacket. Abdulmanap was a senior coach for the combat sambo national team in the Republic of Dagestan, training several athletes in sambo in MakhachkalaMakhachkala, RussiaRussia. Nurmagomedov frequently got into street fights in his youth, before focusing his attention on mixed martial arts. Khabib said that, along with his father, three athletes who inspired him were the American boxers Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson and the Brazilian footballer Ronaldo.

In May 2020, Nurmagomedov's father and his personal trainer Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov were placed in a medically induced coma after contracting COVID-19 and undergoing heart surgery. He died on July 3, 2020 in a Moscow clinic at the age of 57. This event most seriously influenced Nurmagomedov's future career. After the fight with GeydzhiGaethje, Nurmagomedov announced that he was ending his career because he wanted to spend more time with his mother.

In September 2018, Nurmagomedov spoke out against the performances of Black Star Black Star label artists in Dagestan, which caused a conflict between him and TimatiTimati, one of the owners and founders of the company. Later, the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan KadyrovRamzan Kadyrov, said that he had reconciled Nurmagomedov with Timati.

On October 30, 2020, Nurmagomedov spoke on Instagram in connection with the assassination of Samuel Paty and the terrorist attack in NiceNice, calling French President Macron a “creature” that inspires “followers who, under the slogan of freedom of speech, offend the feelings of more than one and a half billion Muslim believers”. On October 31, the fighter published a new post on the social network, in which he stated that “today, under the pretext of fighting for freedom of speech, the enemies of Islam and Muslims of various levels are trying to offend the feelings of hundreds of millions of believers around the world by drawing caricatures of the best of people”

In an interview after the fight with GeydzhiGaethje, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement. Despite continued attempts to keep the fighter for one more fight, on March 19, 2021, UFC President Dana WhiteDana White announced that Nurmagomedov had retired and the lightweight title had been vacated.

He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFCUFC) a two-time Combat Sambo World Champion. Where he was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021. With 29 wins and no losses, he retired with an undefeated record.

Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov was born to an AvarAvar family on 20 September 1988, in the village of Sildi in the Tsumadinsky DistrictTsumadinsky District of the DagestanDagestan ASSR, an autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR, Soviet UnionSoviet Union. He has an older brother, Magomed, and younger sister, Amina. His father's family had moved from Sildi to Kirovaul, where his father converted the ground floor of their two-storey building into a gym. Nurmagomedov grew up in the household with his siblings and cousins. His interest in martial arts began when watching students training at the gym. Khabib's training as a child included wrestling a bear when he was nine years old.

As is common with many children in DagestanDagestan, he began wrestling from an early age: he started at the age of eight under the tutelage of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. A decorated athlete and a veteran of the Soviet Army, Abdulmanap had also wrestled from an early age, before undergoing training in judo and sambo in the military. Abdulmanap dedicated his life to coaching the youth in Dagestan, in hopes of offering an alternative to the Islamic extremism common to the region.

In 2001, his family moved to MakhachkalaMakhachkala, the capital of DagestanDagestan, where he trained in wrestling from the age of 12, and judo from 15. He resumed training in combat sambo, under his father, at 17. According to Nurmagomedov, the transition from wrestling to judo was difficult, but his father wanted him to get used to competing in a gi jacket. Abdulmanap was a senior coach for the combat sambo national team in the Republic of Dagestan, training several athletes in sambo in Makhachkala, Russia. Nurmagomedov frequently got into street fights in his youth, before focusing his attention on mixed martial arts. Khabib said that, along with his father, three athletes who inspired him were the American boxers Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson and the Brazilian footballer Ronaldo.