# Khabib Nurmagomedov
**Khabib Nurmagomedov** (Хабиб Нурмагомедов; born 1988) is a Russian retired mixed martial artist from Dagestan who competed as a lightweight in the [Ultimate Fighting Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimate-fighting-championship) (UFC), won the UFC lightweight title in 2018, and retired in 2020 with an undefeated professional record of 29 wins and no losses[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/) • [2](https://www.ufc.com/news/khabib-nurmagomedov-officially-retires). He is widely placed in discussions of the greatest fighters in the sport's history, and after retiring he became a coach and mentor to a generation of Dagestani fighters, most notably UFC lightweight champion [Islam Makhachev](https://www.edgepedia.org/islam-makhachev)[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54681864).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988, Sildi, Tsumadinsky District, Dagestan, Russia[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/) |
| Professional record | 29-0, undefeated; 12-0 in the UFC[2](https://www.ufc.com/news/khabib-nurmagomedov-officially-retires) • [4](https://www.ufc.com/athlete/khabib-nurmagomedov) |
| UFC title | Won the lightweight title against Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 (April 2018); defended three times[5](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/08/ufc-233-khabib-nurmagomedov-al-iaquinta) • [3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54681864) |
| Final fight | Submitted Justin Gaethje by triangle choke at 1:34 of round 2, UFC 254, 24 October 2020[4](https://www.ufc.com/athlete/khabib-nurmagomedov) |
| Amateur credentials | Two-time world combat sambo champion, Russian combat sambo champion, NAGA Grappling world champion[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/) |
| Signature statistic | 21 takedowns in one fight (vs. Abel Trujillo), the most in UFC history for a single bout[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/) |
| Retirement | Announced after UFC 254; confirmed as official by UFC president Dana White on 18 March 2021[2](https://www.ufc.com/news/khabib-nurmagomedov-officially-retires) |
## Early life and training
Nurmagomedov was born in the mountain village of Sildi in the Tsumadinsky District of Dagestan. His father, [Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov](https://www.edgepedia.org/abdulmanap-nurmagomedov), an honored coach of Russia in combat sambo, placed him in a range of sports sections from early childhood[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). Khabib began freestyle wrestling with his father at age 5 and trained in it for about three years, a base that his official biography credits as decisive throughout his professional career[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/).
In 2001 the family moved from the countryside to [Makhachkala](https://www.edgepedia.org/makhachkala), the capital of Dagestan, where he trained alongside roughly fifteen brothers, relatives, and friends[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). After watching videos of mixed martial arts as a child, he wanted to try the sport; his father first sent him to study judo under the honored Russian judo coach Jafar Jafarov, under whom he trained for about two years[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). In 2005 he began combat sambo under his father, becoming Russian champion and a two-time world champion in the discipline[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). His amateur honors also include the 2008 Atrium Cup of pankration, Eurasian Cup and European pankration titles, and a NAGA Grappling world championship[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/).
## Professional career
**Debut and early run.** A week before his twentieth birthday, in 2008, Nurmagomedov made his professional debut in Poltava, Ukraine, at the CSFU: Champions League event, submitting the Azerbaijani fighter Vusal Bayramov with a rear choke at three minutes of the first round[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). By 2013, at age 24, he was 20-0 as a professional and four wins into his UFC career[6](https://www.ufc.com/news/making-khabib-nurmagomedov).
**UFC debut.** He entered the UFC on 20 January 2012 at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller, submitting the Iranian fighter Kamal Shalorus by choke at 3:00 of the third round, his second career submission victory in the same manner as his professional debut[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). He then ran a sequence of six dominant wins, over Shalorus, Gleison Tibau, Abel Trujillo, Pat Healy, and [Rafael dos Anjos](https://www.edgepedia.org/rafael-dos-anjos), before injuries intervened: a torn knee ligament in the summer of 2014 kept him out for about a year, and a rib injury in 2015 sidelined him again[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). A scheduled interim lightweight title fight against [Tony Ferguson](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-ferguson) on 4 March 2017 collapsed hours before the bout when Nurmagomedov was hospitalized after a difficult weight cut[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/).
**Title reign.** Nurmagomedov won the UFC lightweight championship at [UFC 223](https://www.edgepedia.org/ufc-223) in April 2018, defeating [Al Iaquinta](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-iaquinta) in Brooklyn[5](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/08/ufc-233-khabib-nurmagomedov-al-iaquinta). His win over [Conor McGregor](https://www.edgepedia.org/conor-mcgregor) later that year became the most successful pay-per-view event in UFC history, and he defended the belt again against Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi at UFC 242[7](https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/10/22/21527940/the-great-divide-is-khabib-nurmagomedov-the-greatest-fighter-of-all-time). His third and final defense came at UFC 254 on 24 October 2020, where he submitted the interim champion Justin Gaethje with a triangle choke at 1:34 of the second round[4](https://www.ufc.com/athlete/khabib-nurmagomedov).
**Retirement.** Immediately after the Gaethje fight, Nurmagomedov announced that the performance would be his last, improving his record to 29-0 with 13 UFC victories[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05HuTGeF5AA). UFC president [Dana White](https://www.edgepedia.org/dana-white) confirmed the retirement as official on 18 March 2021[2](https://www.ufc.com/news/khabib-nurmagomedov-officially-retires). The retirement followed the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap from COVID-19; Nurmagomedov said he had promised his mother he would stop fighting, and he declined, among other offers, a reported $100 million proposal to box [Floyd Mayweather Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/floyd-mayweather-jr)[9](https://as.com/us/us/2021/06/23/masdeporte/1624423629_220963.html)
## Fighting style
Nurmagomedov's game was built on grappling. Commentators describe a foundation of freestyle wrestling, combat sambo, and a judo black belt, with a lifetime of wrestling and grappling experience that allowed him to dominate fights on the mat[10](https://www.mmamania.com/2019/9/5/20845155/khabib-nurmagomedov-fighter-breakdown-strengths-weaknesses-dustin-poirier-ufc-242-abu-dhabi-mma). His official biography lists endurance, a strong freestyle wrestling base, high-level grappling, a calculating approach, a good sense of distance, and strict adherence to his trainer's fight plan as his distinguishing traits[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/).
His striking served the takedown. [Technical analysis](https://www.edgepedia.org/technical-analysis) of his [UFC 254](https://www.edgepedia.org/ufc-254) bout notes that the point of his kickboxing was to set up the takedown, presenting opponents with a choice between defending a punch and defending a shot, and that he adjusted his forward pressure according to whether an opponent was more dangerous kicking or punching[11](https://www.mmamania.com/21525647/khabib-nurmagomedov-fighter-breakdown-strengths-weaknesses-wrestling-justin-gaethe-ufc-254-mma). Once on top, he used positional control to drain opponents; against [Abel Trujillo](https://www.edgepedia.org/abel-trujillo) he completed 21 takedowns across three rounds, the most in UFC history for a single fight[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). Across his entire UFC career he lost two rounds on judges' scorecards[7](https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/10/22/21527940/the-great-divide-is-khabib-nurmagomedov-the-greatest-fighter-of-all-time) • [15](https://sports.yahoo.com/second-time-khabib-nurmagomedov-career-001627192.html).
## Legacy and post-fighting roles
Nurmagomedov's undefeated record placed him in the center of mixed martial arts' greatest-of-all-time conversation, alongside [Georges St-Pierre](https://www.edgepedia.org/georges-st-pierre), Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson, and Amanda Nunes, even though his three-fight title reign was shorter than the long tenures of some peers[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54681864). In 2020 he was voted BBC Sports Personality's World Sport Star of the Year[12](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sports-personality/55330719).
Together with his father, he opened the door for Dagestani fighters to succeed on the world stage, extending the republic's reputation for amateur wrestling into mixed martial arts[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54681864). In 2016 he became president of the Eagles MMA fight team, and in 2019 he became co-owner of the Gorilla Fighting Championship promotion, buying it outright the following year and rebranding it as Eagle Fighting Championship[1](https://www.khabib.com/about/). As a coach he took over the leadership role his father had held, mentoring fighters including Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Usman Nurmagomedov[13](https://as.com/masdeporte/polideportivo/khabib-y-el-estricto-plan-daguestani-no-hay-libertad-de-expresion-f202601-n/). Makhachev's fourth lightweight title defense at UFC 311 in January 2025 broke Nurmagomedov's record of three[14](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/articles/czxk0e44q13o).
## References
1. [Хабиб Нурмагомедов официальный сайт, биография](https://www.khabib.com/about/)
2. [Khabib Nurmagomedov officially retires at 29-0, UFC](https://www.ufc.com/news/khabib-nurmagomedov-officially-retires)
3. [Khabib Nurmagomedov: Retiring UFC star among the greatest of all time, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54681864)
4. [Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC athlete profile](https://www.ufc.com/athlete/khabib-nurmagomedov)
5. ['Now just one champion': Khabib Nurmagomedov takes UFC lightweight title, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/08/ufc-233-khabib-nurmagomedov-al-iaquinta)
6. [The Making Of Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC](https://www.ufc.com/news/making-khabib-nurmagomedov)
7. [The Great Divide: Is Khabib Nurmagomedov the greatest fighter of all-time?, MMA Fighting](https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/10/22/21527940/the-great-divide-is-khabib-nurmagomedov-the-greatest-fighter-of-all-time)
8. [Khabib Nurmagomedov RETIRES, UFC 254, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05HuTGeF5AA)
9. [Khabib dice que "la tentación" de enfrentar a Mayweather está ahí, AS](https://as.com/us/us/2021/06/23/masdeporte/1624423629_220963.html)
10. [Fighter on Fighter: Breaking down UFC 242's Khabib Nurmagomedov, MMA Mania](https://www.mmamania.com/2019/9/5/20845155/khabib-nurmagomedov-fighter-breakdown-strengths-weaknesses-dustin-poirier-ufc-242-abu-dhabi-mma)
11. [Fighter on Fighter: Breaking down UFC 254's Khabib Nurmagomedov, MMA Mania](https://www.mmamania.com/21525647/khabib-nurmagomedov-fighter-breakdown-strengths-weaknesses-wrestling-justin-gaethe-ufc-254-mma)
12. [Khabib Nurmagomedov: UFC fighter named BBC Sports Personality's World Sport Star, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sports-personality/55330719)
13. [Khabib y el estricto plan daguestaní, AS](https://as.com/masdeporte/polideportivo/khabib-y-el-estricto-plan-daguestani-no-hay-libertad-de-expresion-f202601-n/)
14. [Khabib Nurmagomedov v Islam Makhachev in stats, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/articles/czxk0e44q13o)
15. [For the second time in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career, he lost a round at UFC 254](https://sports.yahoo.com/second-time-khabib-nurmagomedov-career-001627192.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Mixed martial arts › Lightweight fighters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license