Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (Russian: Хабиб Абдулманапович Нурмагомедов; Avar: ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов; born September 20, 1988) is a Russian mixed martial artist of Avar descent. He is a multiple time Combat Sambo World Champion and a Judo black belt who currently fights in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently holds one of the longest undefeated streaks in MMA with 22 straight wins. He was ranked the #1 contender in the UFC Lightweight division, but then was dropped to #3 after being out of competition as a result of an injury.^[12] He was also dropped to the #3 Lightweight in the world according to Sherdog^[13] and numerous other publications.^[14][15][16]

Background

Khabib Nurmagomedov was born on September 20, 1988, in the village of Silde in modern-day Dagestan. He is an ethnic Avar and a devout sunni Muslim. During his childhood, he began freestyle wrestling under his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who is a master of judo and boxing. His father has a black belt in Judo under Vladimir Nevzorov and Petr Butryi and is also a Sambo Ukrainian National Champion and national master of sports in Freestyle Wrestling.^[17] After having trained for 5 years in Freestyle Wrestling without significant success, Nurmagomedov studied Judo under black belt Dzafar Dzafarov.^[18]

After high school, Nurmagomedov studied economics at the State University of the Ministry of Finance in Makhachkala.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Nurmagomedov made his professional MMA debut in September 2008 and quickly compiled 4 wins in under a month, including 3 wins in the same night. Over the next 3 years he would go undefeated, finishing 11 out of 12 opponents along the way. This included winning the M-1 Selection Tournament and a first round armbar finish of future Bellator title contender Shahbulat Shamhalaev. A perfect 16-0 record in the regional circuits of Russia and Ukraine was enough to get a call from the UFC.^[19]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In late 2011, Nurmagomedov signed a six-fight deal to compete in the UFC’s lightweight division.^[20]

In his UFC debut, Nurmagomedov defeated Kamal Shalorus on January 20, 2012 at UFC on FX 1 via submission in the third round.^[21]

Nurmagomedov next defeated Gleison Tibau on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148 via unanimous decision.^[22] The decision was somewhat controversial, as the majority of the bout consisted of Nurmagomedov unsuccessfully attempting to takedown Tibau, finishing 0 for 13 in takedown attempts.^[23] 5 out of 6 media outlets scored the fight for Tibau.^[24]

Nurmagomedov defeated Thiago Tavares on January 19, 2013 at UFC on FX 7.^[25] He won via KO in the first round.

Nurmagomedov defeated Abel Trujillo on May 25, 2013 at UFC 160 via unanimous decision. At the weigh-ins, Nurmagomedov came in heavy weighing in at 158.5 lb. He was given two hours to cut to the lightweight maximum of 156 pounds, but elected instead to surrender a percentage of his fight purse to Trujillo and the bout was contested at a catchweight.^[26] In the course of the fight, he set a new UFC record for the most takedowns in a single fight with 21 successful takedowns on 27 attempts.^[27]

In his fifth UFC fight, Nurmagomedov faced Pat Healy on September 21, 2013 at UFC 165.^[28] He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Nurmagomedov was briefly linked to a bout with Gilbert Melendez at UFC 170.^[29] However, the fight was cancelled due to undisclosed reasons.^[30]

Nurmagomedov faced Rafael Dos Anjos on April 19, 2014 at UFC on Fox 11.^[31] He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Nurmagomedov was briefly linked to a bout with Donald Cerrone on September 27, 2014 at UFC 178.^[32] However, the pairing was quickly scrapped after it was revealed that Nurmagomedov had suffered a knee injury ^[33]

Nurmagomedov was expected to face Donald Cerrone on May 23, 2015 at UFC 187.^[34] However, Nurmagomedov pulled out of the bout on April 30 due to a knee injury. He was replaced by John Makdessi.^[35]

Nurmagomedov was expected to face Tony Ferguson on December 11, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale.^[36] However, Nurmagomedov pulled out of the fight in late October citing another injury and was replaced by Edson Barboza.^[37]

The bout with Ferguson is expected to be rescheduled and take place on April 16, 2016 at UFC on Fox 19.^[38]

Personal life

He was married in May 2013, and has a daughter. Nurmagomedov trains at Gadzhi Makhachev Freestyle wrestling club in Makhachkala, Dagestan and American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial artist

• M-1 Global
  • M-1 Selection Championships
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Most Takedowns in a single UFC fight (21 takedowns on 27 attempts) vs. Abel Trujillo.^[39]
• MMAInsider.net
  • 2014 Fighter to Watch.^[40]
• MMA Nuts.com
  • 2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year.^[41]
• KingdomMMA.co.uk
  • Breakthrough Fighter of the Year 2013.^[42]
• Sherdog.com
  • Breakthrough Fighter of the Year 2013.^[43]

Sambo

• World Combat Sambo Federation
  • Combat Sambo World Champion (two-time)^[44]
• Combat Sambo Federation of Russia
  • Combat Sambo Russian National Champion.^[9]
• All-Russian Sambo Federation
  • Russian Combat Sambo National Championships 21st (2010)^[45]

ARB (Army Hand-to-Hand Combat)

• Russian Union of Martial Arts
  • European Champion of Army Hand-to-Hand Combat

Grappling

• NAGA
  • Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi World Champion.

Pankration

• Russian Pankration Federation
  • European Pankration Champion.

Mixed martial arts record

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links

• Professional MMA record for Khabib Nurmagomedov from Sherdog
• Official UFC Profile
• Khabib Nurmagomedov on Twitter
• Khabib Nurmagomedov on Instagram