Khabib Nurmagomedov facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Khabib Nurmagomedov |
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Nurmagomedov at the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022
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| Born | Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov 20 September 1988 Sildi, Dagestan ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
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| Native name | Хабиб Нурмагомедов | ||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Eagle | ||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Russian | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Division | Lightweight (2008–2010, 2012–2020) Welterweight (2009–2011) |
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| Reach | 70 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Style | Combat Sambo | ||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||||
| Fighting out of | Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia San Jose, California, U.S. |
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| Team | American Kickboxing Academy Eagles MMA |
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| Trainer | Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Javier Mendez |
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| Rank | White belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black belt and International Master of Sport in Judo International Master of Sport in Sambo International Master of Sport in Pankration International Master of Sport in Army Hand-to-Hand Combat |
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| Years active | 2008–2020 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mixed martial arts record | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| By knockout | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| By submission | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| By decision | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Khabib Nurmagomedov (born September 20, 1988) is a famous Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Khabib was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, holding the title from April 2018 to March 2021. He retired with an amazing record of 29 wins and no losses, meaning he was never defeated in his professional career. Many people consider Nurmagomedov one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. He was honored by being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on June 30, 2022.
Khabib is a two-time world champion in combat sambo, a type of martial art. He also has a strong background in wrestling, judo, and sambo. When he retired, he was ranked as the number one fighter in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. In 2019, Forbes magazine named Nurmagomedov the most successful Russian athlete.
After retiring from fighting, Nurmagomedov became a mixed martial arts trainer and a promoter. He started his own team called Eagles MMA and promotes fights through the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC). He coached fighters for a while but then decided to step away from the sport completely in January 2023 to focus on his family. However, he returned to coaching in 2025 for some important fights.
Contents
Early Life and Training
Khabib Nurmagomedov was born on September 20, 1988, in a village called Sildi in Dagestan, Russia. He grew up with his older brother, Magomed, and younger sister, Amina. His father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, turned the ground floor of their home into a gym. Khabib became interested in martial arts by watching others train there.
Like many kids in Dagestan, Khabib started wrestling at a young age. He began training at eight years old with his father as his coach. His father, Abdulmanap, was a skilled athlete and a veteran of the Soviet Army. He had also wrestled and trained in judo and sambo during his time in the military. Abdulmanap spent his life coaching young people in Dagestan.
In 2001, Khabib's family moved to Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. He continued his wrestling training from age 12 and started judo at 15. At 17, he went back to training in combat sambo with his father. Khabib said that switching from wrestling to judo was tough. His father wanted him to get used to fighting in a gi jacket. Khabib's father was a top coach for the combat sambo team in Dagestan. Khabib also mentioned that he looked up to famous athletes like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Ronaldo Nazário.
Khabib's MMA Journey
Starting His Professional Career
Khabib Nurmagomedov started his professional MMA career in September 2008. He quickly won four fights in less than a month. On October 11, he won the Atrium Cup tournament in Moscow. Over the next three years, he remained undefeated, winning 11 out of 12 fights by finishing his opponents.
His amazing record of 16 wins and no losses in Russia and Ukraine caught the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The UFC then signed Nurmagomedov to a contract.
Joining the UFC
In late 2011, Khabib signed a six-fight deal to compete in the UFC's lightweight division.
Early UFC Fights
Khabib made his UFC debut on January 20, 2012, at UFC on FX 1. He defeated Kamal Shalorus by submission in the third round.
His next fight was against Gleison Tibau on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148. Khabib won by a unanimous decision. This was his first fight after training at the American Kickboxing Academy.
On January 19, 2013, at UFC on FX 7, Nurmagomedov fought Thiago Tavares. He won by knockout in the first round.
Khabib defeated Abel Trujillo on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160. He won by unanimous decision. In this fight, Khabib set a new UFC record for the most takedowns in a single fight. He successfully took his opponent down 21 times out of 28 attempts.
His fifth UFC fight was on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165 against Pat Healy. Khabib controlled the fight and won by unanimous decision. UFC president Dana White was very impressed with Khabib's performance.
Khabib then faced former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos on April 19, 2014, at UFC on Fox 11. Nurmagomedov dominated the fight and won by unanimous decision.
Unfortunately, Khabib had to pull out of several planned fights due to knee injuries. He was scheduled to fight Donald Cerrone and Tony Ferguson multiple times, but injuries prevented these matches from happening.
On April 16, 2016, Khabib fought Darrell Horcher at UFC on Fox 19. He won the fight by TKO in the second round.
Khabib then faced Michael Johnson on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205. Nurmagomedov controlled the fight and won by submission in the third round.
His fight with Tony Ferguson was scheduled for a third time at UFC 209 on March 4, 2017. However, Khabib became ill due to a difficult weight cut, and the fight was canceled.
Khabib Nurmagomedov fought Edson Barboza on December 30, 2017, at UFC 219. Khabib dominated all three rounds, taking Barboza down many times. He won the fight by unanimous decision. This win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus.
Becoming UFC Lightweight Champion
Winning the Title at UFC 223
Khabib was set to fight Tony Ferguson for the fourth time at UFC 223 on April 7, 2018. But Ferguson got injured, and then his replacement, Max Holloway, was also unable to fight. Finally, Al Iaquinta stepped in to fight Khabib. Only Khabib was able to win the championship in this fight. Nurmagomedov won the fight by unanimous decision and became the UFC Lightweight Champion.
Defending His Title Against Conor McGregor
On August 3, 2018, the UFC announced that Khabib would defend his lightweight title against Conor McGregor at UFC 229 on October 6 in Las Vegas. Khabib won the first two rounds but lost the third, which was the first time he had lost a round in his UFC career. He then defeated McGregor in the fourth round by submission. After this victory, Khabib's record improved to 27 wins and no losses. This was the longest winning streak in UFC history at the time. The event was very popular, with 2.4 million people watching it on pay-per-view.
Post-Fight Incident at UFC 229
After his win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229, Khabib jumped over the octagon fence. This led to a brief scuffle between the two teams. Khabib later apologized for his actions. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) investigated the incident. Khabib received a nine-month suspension from fighting and a $500,000 fine. He was able to compete again on July 6, 2019.
Unifying the Title Against Dustin Poirier
In June 2019, Khabib signed a new contract with the UFC. For his next fight, he defended his title against interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier on September 7, 2019, at UFC 242. He won the fight by a rear naked choke submission in the third round. This win brought both titles together and earned Khabib another Performance of the Night bonus. After the fight, Khabib and Poirier showed respect by swapping shirts. Khabib later sold Poirier's shirt for $100,000 and donated the money to Poirier's charity.
Final Title Defense Against Justin Gaethje
Khabib was scheduled to defend his title against Tony Ferguson on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249. This was the fifth time this fight had been planned. However, Khabib could not leave Russia due to travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. So, Justin Gaethje fought Ferguson instead and won, earning him a chance to fight Khabib.
Khabib faced Gaethje in a fight to unify the titles on October 24, 2020, at UFC 254. Khabib won the fight by technical submission with a triangle choke in the second round. After the fight, Khabib announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. He explained that he had promised his mother he would not fight without his late father, Abdulmanap, who had passed away. This final win earned him another Performance of the Night award.
Retirement and Hall of Fame
Even though there were talks about him returning for one more fight, UFC president Dana White announced on March 19, 2021, that he had accepted Khabib's decision to retire. The UFC Lightweight Championship was then officially left open.
On July 1, 2022, Khabib Nurmagomedov was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.
Life After Fighting
After retiring, Khabib bought a Russian MMA promotion called Gorilla Fighting Championship for $1 million. He then renamed it the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC).
Khabib also became an active coach with American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez. He coached and helped many fighters, including UFC Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and his cousins Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Umar Nurmagomedov. In January 2023, Khabib announced he was stepping away from coaching completely to focus on his family. However, he returned to coaching in 2025 for some important fights, including for his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
Fighting Style
Khabib Nurmagomedov was known for his wrestling-based fighting style. He put constant pressure on his opponents. He used many different wrestling and judo/sambo takedowns. He would force his opponents against the cage and control their legs and arms so they couldn't escape. From this position, he would tire them out by putting his weight on them and hitting them with strikes they couldn't defend. This was one of his signature ways to set up his finishing moves. Throughout his career, 19 of his 29 wins came from either TKO/KO (technical knockout/knockout) or submission.
Many experts praised Khabib's skills. MMA commentator Joe Rogan said Khabib was "the most terrifying lightweight contender in the world" because his grappling skills were on "another level."
Personal Life
As part of his Dagestani Avar culture, Khabib often wore a papakha hat after his fights. He is a big fan of football (soccer) and supports teams like Anzhi Makhachkala, Galatasaray, Real Madrid, and Liverpool. He also supports the Russia national team.
Khabib is the most-followed Russian person on Instagram, with over 34 million followers as of December 2022.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the first Muslim to win a UFC title. He is a Sunni Muslim. In October 2020, The Guardian newspaper said that Khabib was the second-most-popular Muslim athlete in the world, after the Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah.
Family Life
Khabib married Patimat in June 2013. They have three children: a daughter born in 2015, a son born in 2017, and another son born in 2019. Their first son was named Magomed, after Khabib's great-grandfather. Some of Khabib's cousins are also UFC fighters, including Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Umar Nurmagomedov, and Bellator fighter Usman Nurmagomedov.
In May 2020, Khabib's father and long-time coach, Abdulmanap, became very ill after getting COVID-19. He sadly passed away on July 3, 2020, at the age of 57.
Awards and Honors
In October 2018, after his victory against McGregor, Khabib was made an "Honorary Citizen of Grozny." He was also given a Mercedes car. His father, Abdulmanap, received an award as well.
On December 5, 2019, the Head of the Republic of Dagestan awarded Khabib and his father the Order For Services to the Republic of Dagestan. This was for their important contributions to sports in Dagestan.
Championships and Accomplishments
Khabib Nurmagomedov achieved many great things in his career:
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Hall of Fame (Modern Wing, Class of 2022)
- UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
- He successfully defended his title three times.
- He holds the record for the longest Lightweight champion reign in UFC history (1077 days).
- He is tied for the fourth longest win streak in UFC history (13 wins).
- Performance of the Night (Three times)
- He set the record for the most takedowns in a single UFC fight (21 takedowns at UFC 160).
- He was the second Russian UFC champion.
- He was the first Muslim UFC champion.
- Sambo
- 2009 World Combat Sambo Championships Gold Medalist
- 2010 World Combat Sambo Championships Gold Medalist
- Other Awards
- 2020 BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year
- 2021 Best MMA fighter
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See also
In Spanish: Jabib Nurmagomédov para niños
