10 Things You Need To Know About Khabib Nurmagomedov

Though the continued public well being disaster has led to the cancellation and postponement of most reside sporting occasions (together with, most notably, the 2020 Olympic video games), Final Preventing Championship CEO Dana White caught to his weapons — till April 9, that's, when mounting strain from each ESPN and authorities officers led White to indefinitely postpone all currently scheduled UFC events for the foreseeable future. That unfortunately included UFC 249, a pay-per-view occasion that White initially mentioned was nonetheless on for April 18, even after the upcoming Struggle Nights had already been postponed.
UFC 249 was set to function reigning light-weight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov defending his title in opposition to former interim champ Tony Ferguson, however attributable to journey restrictions, Khabib confirmed that he's unable to attend. Dana White then picked Justin Gaethje to replace Khabib on the main card earlier than the occasion was postponed altogether. Ferguson’s long-sought-after title problem should wait, nevertheless it’s protected to say that he isn’t the one one hungry for a shot at that belt: The still-undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov is without doubt one of the prime fighters within the UFC and plenty of MMA followers are already effectively aware of his historical past and profession. In case you’re curious to be taught extra in regards to the light-weight champion, then right here’s a fast run-down of 10 issues it is advisable find out about Khabib.

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He’s a Russian nationwide from Dagestan

Khabib was born in 1988 and hails from Dagestan, an autonomous republic within the North Caucasus which was then part of the Soviet Union and is now part of the Russian Federation, making him a Russian nationwide. He speaks a number of languages, together with Russian, English, Turkish, Arabic, and Avar (one of many native Caucasian languages of Dagestan).

His combating model relies on Fight Sambo

Nurmagomedov has educated in wrestling and Judo from a younger age, however his main combating model relies on Fight Sambo, a Russian martial artwork that originated within the Soviet Union. He began his coaching on the age of eight underneath his father. A part of his coaching included wrestling a bear on the age of 9. Khabib’s present “ground-and-pound” model is made to place excessive strain on his opponents by using aggressive takedowns and tying up their legs and arms to forestall escape earlier than raining down heavy blows from this advantageous place.

….And he’s a former two-time World Fight Sambo Champion

Earlier than his wildly profitable run within the UFC, Khabib competed in skilled Fight Sambo. Representing Russia, he gained two world championships — one in 2009 in Kyiv and a second in 2010 in Moscow. He racked up a 16-Zero report within the Russian and Ukrainian combating circuits earlier than signing on with the Final Preventing Championship in 2011.

He holds the longest undefeated streak within the UFC

The UFC has a number of undefeated fighters, however Khabib Nurmagomedov is maybe essentially the most spectacular with an unmatched and unbroken streak of 28 victories. Eight of those wins had been by knockout, 10 by submission, and 10 by determination. He now sits at quantity two within the males’s UFC pound-for-pound rankings (gentle heavyweight champion Jon Jones at present holds the highest spot) and is the top-ranked males’s light-weight fighter.

He previously fought at welterweight

As a light-weight fighter, Khabib stands at 5 toes 10 inches tall and weighs in at 155 kilos, though he previously fought at welterweight from 2009 to 2011 (with one temporary return to light-weight) earlier than his entry into the Final Preventing Championship. His UFC debut match in opposition to Kamal Shalorus in January 2012 marked his return to light-weight and the start of his eventual ascent to light-weight champion.

He’s the primary Muslim to win a UFC title

Nurmagomedov is a religious Sunni Muslim and the primary Muslim to carry a UFC championship belt. He doesn’t struggle throughout Ramadan, a month of fasting and prayer within the Islamic religion that falls this yr from April 23 to Might 23. Khabib has additionally said that he wants at the least 45 days after Ramadan to get better and restart coaching — which might add one other two months or so to that point — because of the fasting. That is particularly essential in gentle of the 2020 coronavirus outbreak as a result of his extremely anticipated UFC 249 title struggle in opposition to Tony Ferguson has now been postponed, which means that it should be rescheduled for a while in September on the absolute earliest.

That fascinating wool hat he wears known as a “papakha”

Khabib continuously does press conferences and post-fight interviews carrying a novel blond-colored wool hat. This iconic headwear known as a papakha, which is often worn by males all through the Caucasus area and is a part of the Degastani Avar tradition from which Nurmagomedov hails. Variants of this are additionally frequent all through Russia and have even been a part of Soviet army uniforms.

He’s a household man

Khabib married in 2013 and has two youngsters, a daughter and a son, and he and his spouse expect a 3rd little one this yr. He's additionally the cousin of one other UFC fighter, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, who competes within the welterweight division and is a former Sambo champion himself. As with many households within the Caucasus area, wrestling and fight sports activities are a practice within the Nurmagomedov clan; Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap, educated him from a younger age and is at present a senior coach and coach for Degastan’s nationwide Fight Sambo workforce.

His profession has not been with out some controversies

Nurmagomedov has had a prolonged rivalry with UFC star Conor McGregor, which has led to heated exchanges between the 2 fighters on a couple of event. Many MMA followers will keep in mind McGregor’s notorious bus assault earlier than UFC 223, the place “The Infamous” smashed out a window of a bus carrying Khabib and different fighters (an incident for which McGregor was charged).
Khabib later defeated McGregor at UFC 229 in October of that yr, afterward leaping the cage and speeding Conor’s cornerman who was trash-talking him from outdoors the Octagon. This led to an altercation between the 2 fighters’ groups. The incident resulted in Khabib’s cost for the struggle being partially withheld and each combatants being barred from combating pending a listening to. Nurmagomedov finally obtained a $500,000 positive and a nine-month suspension for his involvement within the ordeal however was eligible to struggle once more in July 2019.

UFC 249 would have marked his third title protection

UFC 249: Khabib vs. Ferguson would have been the third light-weight title protection of Nurmagomedov’s profession. Khabib gained the vacant title at UFC 223 when he defeated Al Iaquinta by way of unanimous determination, then efficiently defended it twice: As soon as in opposition to Conor McGregor at UFC 229 and most lately in opposition to Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 the place he gained Efficiency of the Evening.
Though the scheduled UFC occasions have been indefinitely postponed, ESPN+ is still the premier streaming app for all kinds of sports activities content material and it’s the only way you can watch UFC pay-per-view events as soon as they begin up once more (maybe we’ll see the following one happen on UFC’s non-public “struggle island”). New subscribers can join now for simply $5 per thirty days or a less expensive $50 per yr, or you'll be able to rating the streaming bundle which incorporates ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu for $13 per thirty days and save 25%.
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