Over the years in all sports there has been the question of who was the greatest. Who dominated the sport in a manner like no one else before? Who changed the sport? In MMA there have been little to none like Khabib Nurmagomadof. At the time of his retirement in 2020 he was ranked as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Like none other he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t party, he doesn’t buy cars, he doesn’t buy houses, and he lives with his mother in the same house he grew up in, with two siblings and his cousins. Khabib A, a devout Muslim who lives his life for religion and discipline. Mentored by his father since a very young age, he has become one of the best and most humble fighters in the history of the world.
Khabib was born in Dagestan, Russia, where his father owned a gym and from a very young age he showed a great aptitude for sports and martial arts. His only trainer ever was his father. Urban legend says that at the age of 9 Khabib wrestled a bear cub and won. Khabib had an amateur portafolio so he was accepted into professional promotions at the mere age of 20. In his professional career he is undefeated and he retired undefeated which is something that has never been done before by any champion. Before the UFC he blitzed the Russian MMA community and was delayed in 2011 by a contract discourse with the UFC. Nonetheless once the differences had been ironed out he joined the UFC and defeated top names. He carved his way through the MMA ranks until he fought for the vacated UFC title at 155lbs and he won the title by a unanimous decision. In the fifth round Khabib had his opponent pinned to the ground and he began speaking to the camera asking for Connor McGregor. That was the beginning of the worst rivalry in fight history. Ultimately, Khabib won against McGregor. He defeated the remaining 155lbs division. Sadly,his father tragically died in July 2020. Habib had one more fight booked; he fought Justin Gaethje, end 1 by second round submission. After the fight he gave his long speech on how complicated it was to train without his father and he would never ever be able to fight again like he did before. He was flooded with emotions and threw his gloves onto the canvas. He has since been coaxed by Dana White, the UFC’s president, to return. Nonetheless, he is a simple man. He says that he promised his mother that he would not fight for any amount of money. He has since been training young fighters like his father before him, in the same gym in Dagestan.
