Khabib Nurmagomedov is changing the face of the UFC. His current professional record is 28-0 and he is currently at the number 2 spot in UFC’s pound-for-pound ranking, just behind Jon Jones. At the moment, it looks like no one can give Khabib a good challenge because he is seriously dominating every opponent that comes in his way.
During the start of his career, many people doubted him because he was mainly focused on his wrestling skills, and everybody knows that the lighter divisions are always more direct and aggressive. Nowadays, if you take a look at the online sports betting, all of the bookies are placing him as the obvious favourite in every single fight.
Statistically looking, Khabib has excellent striking and grappling accuracy, with a success rate close to 50%. But what are some other factors that played a major role in his success?
Dedication
Khabib started his journey in the fighting world at a young age. We’ve all seen the video where he is wrestling a bear. His father explained that action as an activity to try and build his character. You can see that he never got distracted in his quest to become the best. The 30-year-old recently went back to Dagestan for a second round with a Dagestani bear.
Unique Style
Most of the UFC champions in his category are focused on their offense and aggressive style of fighting. After all, it is known that most of the bouts in the Lightweight category finish in the 3rd round, most often by a knockout. Khabib wasn’t having any of that. He learned to control his pace and used his knowledge in sambo, judo, and wrestling. That made him the fighter with the longest undefeated streak in MMA history.
Respect
His fight with Dustin Poirier showed just how much respect he has for the fighters and the sport. Khabib stated after the fight that the sport comes down to the respect that fighters need to have between each other, unlike his last fight with McGregor, where Conor threw all kinds of insults at him and his family. He even took Poirier’s shirt and promised to help with the charity events, as he now has a great platform and reach.
Humbleness
Time after time, Khabib showed just how humble he is. He used his fame to try and raise money for various charities and he is one of the rare fighters that treats his opponents with the utmost respect by never underestimating them. He stayed the same person throughout his career, keeping his close family and friends in his circle and not letting anyone discredit them.
Strategic Approach
In a recent interview with ESPN, Khabib shared his opinion on how he approaches every fighter. He said that he is never aiming to finish a fight in the first or second round. He stated that he is always prepared to fight for 5 rounds. He said that he spends a long time watching his opponents’ fights and studying their techniques. While he is in the octagon with them, he tries to exhaust them as much as possible, and then, go for the win.