No one has been more dominant through as many fights as Khabib Nurmagomedov, but even he has had some dangerous moments in his career.
If Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement sticks, he would have left this sport with a flawless, unprecedented 29-0 record. But no human being is perfect, not even the undefeated Nurmagomedov. Khabib was able to do what no UFC fighter has been able to achieve in terms of his win/loss record, but that doesn’t mean his opponents never had success or put the lightweight champion in danger. Always the cool-and-composed competitor, Khabib always responded to adversity painlessly, but the most dangerous moments of his career may or may not match the list of fans who watched them happen at home.”
“Nothing too dangerous, although there are some to highlight,” Khabib said of his most dangerous moments at a recent press conference. “The guillotine attempt from Dustin Poirier, it’s one of his trademark moves, but I kept it under control. I knew he was good at it and capable of choking his opponent out with the right hand, but I was ready.
“And Michael Johnson’s left hand,” Khabib continued. “I wouldn’t say he rocked me, though. Also, Justin Gaethje hit me really hard a few times. He hit my leg, got me with a right uppercut and a good left hook. It was the moment he broke. He put everything into this combination and I said, ‘Is that all you’ve got?’ It was the moment when I saw in his eyes that he broke. He lost faith in his best punches.”
Khabib would go on to defeat all three of the mentioned names by submission. If the most dangerous moments of any fighter’s career resulted in not being dropped, cut, and bouncing back with a submission win, then that goes to show you just what kind of a special fighter we are talking about.
As a spectator, what did you think was the most danger Khabib has ever been in as it happened?
This article first appeared on MMANews.com on 12/20/2020
