One of the most revered athletes to ever graced the octagon, Khabib Nurmagomedov retires with an impressive and dominant 29 wins unbeaten in the prestigious mixed martial arts tournament UFC. Even with the dominant performance in the sport, Khabib has always been known to show humbleness in his acts, remaining true to his Islamic faith and heritage. Often reciting "Alhamdulillah" and "Insha Allah" in his public speeches, he is an inspirational figure for Muslims everywhere.
Image Credit: USA Today Sports
Khabib Nurmagomedov was born on the 20th of September 1988 in Sil'di, in the Dagestan, Russia. He then later moved to Kirovaul, which was where his interest in martial arts was ignited as he watched students training at the gym.
It is not unusual that the children from Dagestan begin training for MMA at an early age and so did Khabib when he was 8 years old. His father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was an army veteran, he looked after the young prodigy’s training. At 9, Khabib was known to be a good grappler, he even fought a bear.
His family moved to Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan in 2001. From the age of 12, Khabib trained in wrestling, judo, and later took up combat sambo.
Khabib’s professional journey began in 2008 when he made his MMA debut securing 4 consecutive wins in 1 month.
At present, Khabib is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he reigns the UFC Lightweight Champion. With an impressive statistic of 29 wins and 0 losses, he holds the longest undefeated active streak in MMA history. Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov believes going 30-0 would be the 'Floyd Mayweather record of MMA', a record he aims to achieve before he retires.
As of 12th October 2020, Khabib is ranked #2 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. Adding more to his achievements, he is also the most followed Russian celebrity on Instagram having more than 21 million followers. Khabib is the first Muslim to win a UFC title.
Khabib: is the Arabic word Habib حبيب meaning "beloved" or "most loved".
Nur: is the Arabic word Nur نور meaning "The divine light".
Magomed: the Russian form of the Arabic name Mohamed or Muhammed محمد. It means "praised"
ov: a Russian suffix added to male names, meaning "belonging to". The female equivalent of this is "-yeva" or "-ova"
The Russian star Khabib Nurmagomedov faced one of his toughest challenges to date in the form of Justin Gaethje from America for the UFC Lightweight crown on ‘Fight Island’.
Nobody has dominated the MMA universe quite like Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov. With a phenomenal record of 28 wins before the bout, Nurmagomedov has not lost a single fight. If there was anyone who could've broken the streak, it was Gaethje.
Gaethje previously gave his career-best performance by defeating Tony Ferguson with a fifth-round TKO at UFC 249 capturing the interim championship.
“I'm here to ruin Khabib Nurmagomedov's day," Gaethje said at one of the interviews before the fight. The event though showed otherwise.
Following his 29th unbeaten victory at UFC 254, Khabib announced that the win over Gaethje was his final night in the octagon and he announced his retirement in his post-fight interview.
Image Credit: UFC
Image Credit: MMA ARAB on Facebook
UFC lightweight title - Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Justin Gaethje (ic)
Middleweight - Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier
Heavyweight - Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris
Middleweight - Jacob Malkoun vs. Phil Hawes
Women's flyweight - Lauren Murphy vs. Liliya Shakirova
Light-heavyweight - Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
Heavyweight - Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa
Welterweight - Alex Oliveira vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Light-heavyweight - Da Un Jung vs. Sam Alvey
Catchweight (140lbs) - Nathaniel Wood vs. Casey Kenney
Women's flyweight - Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick
Lightweight - Joel Alvarez vs. Alexander Yakovlev
Disclaimer: Although we shine the spotlight on an athlete in Mixed Martial Arts to celebrate his achievements, HalalTrip does not condone some aspects of the sport of UFC or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) such as striking the face.
