5 Things You Might Not Know About Khabib Nurmagomedov

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Khabib Nurmagomedov is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king. The Dagestani is a dominant grappler who merges his powerful takedowns with heavy ground-and-pound and a crafty submission game. In his next outing, Nurmagomedov will put his title on the line against brash Irishman Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event on Oct. 06 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

As one of the biggest fights in recent UFC history draws closer, here are five things that you might not know about the 30 year-old known as “The Eagle.”

1. He started training in combat sports at a very early age.

Nurmagomedov was a small child when he commenced training in wrestling under the tutelage of his father, a decorated coach and former combat sambo title holder. A YouTube video which has surfaced from that era shows a 9-year-old Nurmagomedov wrestling with a bear cub. In 2001, the 13-year-old Khabib and his family moved from the countryside to the Dagestan capital, Makhachkala. There, the precocious youngster participated in daily combat sport practice, which in addition to wrestling also entailed judo and combat sambo.

2. He holds the longest current undefeated streak in all of MMA.

The 30 year-old has won every one of his 26 professional contests. This decade-long run has comprised 8 (31 percent) submission victories, 8 KO/TKO’s, with a further 10 (38 percent) coming by way of decision. The first 16 of these victories were at welterweight, the weight class above that which he currently occupies.The 26-fight winning streak is all the more remarkable, considering that his most recent 10 triumphs have all come at the elite level of the sport.

3. He is a devout Muslim.

Like the majority of his fellow Dagestanis, Nurmagomedov is a Sunni Muslim. His religious observances entail attending pilgrimages, refraining from alcohol and refusing bouts during the month of Ramadan, due to his fasting commitments. Nurmagomedov felt disrespected by McGregor’s relentless plugging of his signature whiskey at their recent UFC presser. And this was not the first-time he has been annoyed by the perceived lack of respect for his religious beliefs. Back in 2016, Nurmagomedov voiced his displeasure at EA Sports for his character’s celebratory Christian gesture of the cross, in the UFC 2 console game.

4. He has trained with a lot of different teams.

Nurmagomedov has trained at numerous different locations over the course of his lifetime of combat practice. In his formative years, in addition to being schooled by his father, he also received tuition in judo from Jafar Jafarov, at his renowned judo school. Other locations Nurmagomedov has spent time include Dagestan’s SC Bazarganova, Bahrain’s KHK MMA Team and St. Petersburg’s Mamishev Fight Team and Fight Spirit Team. These days Nurmagomedov is usually to be found training at one of three teams -- the Gadzhi Makhachev Freestyle Wrestling Club, American Kickboxing Academy and from time to time with his own team, Eagles MMA Team in Moscow, which he founded in 2016.

5. He has won numerous combat sambo titles.

Prior to, and during the early years of his MMA career, Nurmagomedov was a frequent combat sambo competitor. His accolades in the sport include capturing a gold medal in the 2009 Russian Combat Sambo Championships (-74 kg) and winning two World Combat Sambo Championships (-74kg in 2009 and -82kg in 2010). Outside of combat sambo, he’s claimed titles in various prestigious grappling-based tournaments.

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