Khabib Nurmagomedov takes his place among the elites, as he joins the Hall of Fame Class of 2022


Khabib Nurmagomedov takes his place among the elites, as he joins the Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Khabib Nurmagomedov

The inevitable happened. Khabib Nurmagomedov has now been immortalized by his induction to the UFC Hall of Fame. The UFC announced on Saturday that Khabib (29-0), undefeated and perhaps the greatest lightweight of all time is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2022. The announcement was made during UFC 272 for which Khabib was present.

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Khabib made his UFC debut in 2012 with an unbeaten record before joining the UFC and would continue his winning ways with a 9-0 record. He won the vacant title after a dominant victory against Al Iaquinta at UFC. He defended his belt 3 more times, the last of which was against Justin Gaethje by submission at UFC 254. He announced his retirement from MMA at the post-fight conference which was only a couple of months after his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, died due to COVID-19 complications.

Khabib’s rivalry with Conor is still one of the biggest UFC events ever. His 12 win streak in the division is the longest win streak without a loss in the division’s history. Khabib’s reaction to the sudden news seems to be one of disbelief, in a video where he reacts to the news, he said “It was like I don’t expect this you know, I don’t expect. What can I say?”

Khabib is to join the ‘Modern Wing’ of the Hall of Fame alongside the likes of greats Georges St-Pierre, Forest Griffin and Michael Bisping. The induction ceremony will take place during International Fight Week which is from June 27 to June 3 in Las Vegas.

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Read: “Now I have my friend”- Khabib Nurmagomedov shares a brief interaction with Kamaru Usman’s father

After going on undefeated as an athlete, Khabib Nurmagomedov is serving as a successful coach for team Dagestan

Khabib Nurmagomedov coach
Khabib Nurmagomedov as coach

After retiring from the competition, Khabib immediately filled in the role of the coach for his team. He is working with his team from Dagestan, and coach Khabib is pretty successful as a coach as well. His training partner and friend, Islam Makhachev is climbing the lightweight rankings, and he is expected to win the belt by the end of his year. His cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov showcased a dominant performance at UFC 272, and Khabib was proud of his performance.

It was a strong performance by Umar who seeks to follow his cousin’s footsteps in the UFC used his Dagestani wrestling to dominate Kelleher from where he was able to secure his victory via rear naked choke. Even in the standup, Umar dominated as he used his strikes to set up the takedown which goes to show how the level of his striking has improved.

Also Read: “You prepare very well”- Khabib Nurmagomedov sends his teammates well wishes ahead of UFC 272

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