Tag: Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC free fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov makes Conor McGregor tap out in heated title fight

Relive the UFC 229 main event in which Khabib Nurmagomedov tapped Conor McGregor – in its entirety.

One of the biggest fights in UFC history can now be watched in its entirety for free on YouTube.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] headlined UFC 229 on Oct. 6, 2018. Still to this date, it’s the most-purchased pay-per-view in promotion history, with a reported buy rate of 2.4 million.

The fight was long-built with McGregor and Nurmagomedov engaged in one of the most vicious and ruthless rivalries in promotion history.

The fight was initially competitive, but Nurmagomedov broke away with the momentum after he rocked McGregor with a big overhand right. From there, grappling became the name of the game.

Nurmagomedov took down and controlled McGregor for much of the fight. As he landed ground-and-pound punches, Nurmagomedov barked at McGregor.

At 3:03 of Round 4, Nurmagomedov finished the fight. McGregor tapped due to a neck crank submission before Nurmagomedov jumped out of the cage and incited a brawl between the two teams.

Watch the entire UFC 229 main event between McGregor and Nurmagomedov in the video above.

‘EA UFC 5’ rating release for best lightweights: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev get 5 stars

Check out the game ratings for the top five lightweights in “EA UFC 5,” with good friends Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev leading.

With the release of the “EA UFC 5” video game rapidly approaching, fans are wondering who the best characters in each weight class will be.

MMA Junkie will have the answer to some of those unknowns, as ratings are starting to be unveiled ahead of the Oct. 27 launch (with access on Oct. 24 with purchase of the Deluxe Edition) for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.

The countdown continues with the lightweight division, which is arguably the deepest in the sport

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Check below for a countdown of the top five rated 155-pound fighters from “EA UFC 5,” who have their striking, grappling and health come together under a five-star system to create an overall rating out of five.

Khabib Nurmagomedov: Alexander Volkanovski looked good vs. Islam Makhachev, but ‘all the world knows he lose’

Khabib Nurmagomedov says it never mattered who Islam Makhachev fought at UFC 294 – he’s ready to defend his title.

[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] believes UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] convincingly beat [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] in their first fight.

Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) retained his title in a unanimous decision win over featherweight champion Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC) this past February at UFC 284, a fight Volkanovski thought he won.

Makhachev was scheduled to face Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 next Saturday, Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi, but it was revealed Tuesday that Oliveira was forced out due to a cut. As a result, Volkanovski will step in on short notice for his title-fight rematch.

According to Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has been ready to defend his throne regardless of the opponent.

“Islam is a world champion right now,” Nurmagomedov said on his Instagram (h/t Anatomy of a Fighter). “If somebody can make 155 and UFC says this guy is a contender, who cares? It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who. If King Kong can make 155, OK, bring this guy here. It doesn’t matter. I told Islam today morning, ‘Brother, it doesn’t matter. You’re the world champion.’ Volk, Charles, (Dustin) Poirier, Justin (Gaethje), it doesn’t matter. It’s supposed to be Charles, OK. He pulled out, but we already beat him, and we don’t care about this.

“If they want Volk again, first fight was very good, very competitive fight, but we know and their team knows we win unanimous decision. It was not even split decision. It was unanimous decision. Yes, Volk was looking good in that fight, but he lose, and he knows, his team knows, and all the world knows he lose. OK, they want to bring him again, bring him again. We here. Islam almost on weight, on point, he’s ready to go. We have five more hard days for training, and we ready for Abu Dhabi.”

Volkanovski had Makhachev in unfamiliar territory at the end of their fight after dropping him late in Round 5 and winding up in top position. Makhachev hasn’t competed since, but Volkanovski went on to finish Yair Rodriguez to notch his fifth title defense at UFC 290 in July.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.

Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Conor McGregor at UFC 229: Best photos

Relive one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history when Khabib Nurmagomedov stopped rival Conor McGregor at UFC 229.

Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]’s submission win over Conor McGregor to retain the lightweight title at UFC 229 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvestrie, USA TODAY Sports)

Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals hardest hitter he faced in UFC – but who barely fazed him

Khabib Nurmagomedov barely absorbed a clean shot throughout his career, but there was one he remembers who got him good.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] barely absorbed a clean shot throughout his career, but he says the hardest one came from [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag].

Former lightweight champion Nurmagomedov’s final fight of his career was against Gaethje in October 2020 at UFC 254. Nurmagomedov submitted Gaethje in Round 2 to retain his belt before announcing his retirement.

Nurmagomedov has fought the likes of Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, but he named Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) as the hardest hitter. But “The Eagle” insists he was barely fazed when Gaethje connected.

“I think it was Justin Gaethje,” Nurmagomedov said on the PBD Podcast. “He hits like truck, but it was one thing what breaks him, like when he hit me, I remember it was right uppercut and left hook. It was his best shot in the fight and I told him, ‘Brother, this is everything that you have?’ I was talking with him. It was conversation inside the cage.

“I like Justin Gaethje, and I was talking with him after this combination, and I told him, ‘This is everything that you have?’ And end of the first round, he started to like tire, and I told him, ‘This is jetlag because you come to Abu Dhabi one week before the fight. I’m here one month.’ I know where I was after one week because this is like desert. You have to be there at least a couple of weeks before the fight. I know myself, one week when I come, I cannot sleep.”

Gaethje is fresh off perhaps the biggest knockout of his career – a head-kick finish of Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 to claim the “BMF” title. “The Highlight” also has stopped the likes of Michael Johnson, Donald Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and Tony Ferguson with strikes.

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Justin Gaethje: UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev is not Khabib, and I want to prove it

Justin Gaethje doesn’t see Islam Makhachev as the unconquerable force that Khabib Nurmagomedov was.

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] doesn’t see [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] as the unconquerable force that [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] was.

Gaethje was submitted by undefeated former UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov in their title fight in October 2020. As he heads into his rematch with Dustin Poirier for the “BMF” title in Saturday’s UFC 291 headliner at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Gaethje hopes it earns him a shot at lightweight champ Makhachev.

Like Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has run through most opposition until he was taken to the brink by featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. He also was knocked out in his second UFC fight by Adriano Martins, but hasn’t lost since.

“If we’re going off of what we know, then it’s going to be Volkanovski because he already fought him and it was a really close fight,” Gaethje told Shakiel Mahjouri on Makhachev’s toughest test. “I’ve never fought him. Poirier’s never fought him. … I think Volkanovski is the obvious answer for now, but I can’t wait to get in there. I know for a fact he’s not Khabib, and I want to go in there and prove that.”

The UFC opted to go with Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2 for the UFC 294 headliner Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi. If the Gaethje vs. Poirier winner ever was in play, Gaethje says it would have been highly unlikely for him to turn around so quickly if he beats Poirier.

“I would say there would be a 0 percent chance,” Gaethje said. “The UFC isn’t going to protect you. It’s just the name of the game. You’ve got to take time between these fights – not just the fights, but the training camp that we just went through. I’ve just been through 12 weeks of training – extremely hard, six days a week, and your body gets broken down.

“It’s something that you’ve really got to focus on is understanding you’ve got to go through a healing process every single time you step in there. The physical aspect, but I would say even the mental aspect is a traumatic life experience every time you step in there, and you’ve really got to take some time to heal every time you do that.”

UFC 291 takes place Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.

Javier Mendez: Khabib Nurmagomedov unlikely to grapple Georges St-Pierre, devoting more time to family

As much as fans may want to see it, Javier Mendez doesn’t think Khabib Nurmagomedov will end up grappling Georges St-Pierre.

Javier Mendez doesn’t think [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] will end up grappling fellow UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag].

St-Pierre will take part in a UFC Fight Pass Invitational no-gi jiu-jitsu match Dec. 14, but is yet to draw an opponent. People are salivating at the idea of St-Pierre vs. Nurmagomedov, but Mendez said Nurmagomedov vowed to spend more time with his family. Although it would just be a grappling match as opposed to a fight, Mendez knows “The Eagle” takes every challenge seriously, so it would occupy plenty of his time.

“I don’t know if Khabib would do the competition because he stated that his family is what it’s all about,” Mendez told MMA Junkie in an interview set up by SafeBettingSites.com. “More devoted time for the family and knowing him, any challenge is a work. So he’s going to have to stay focused on one particular thing.

“He’s not going to take it lightly if he does. So, I don’t see that happening, but I could be wrong. I never spoke to him about it, if it’s any interest to him. But in my opinion, there is no better match to make than that one.”

Mendez said although Nurmagomedov is retired, he’s still active on the mats and would be more than capable of competing.

“I think it might be of interest to him because Khabib is always training,” Mendez said. “It’s not like he doesn’t grapple. He grapples all the time. So, he hasn’t stopped training, he just doesn’t train to fight. But he still does his cardio, he still grapples with the guys, because he always tells me, ‘How are the guys going to get ready for my level if they never know my level?’

“So, he grapples with the up-and-coming guys all the time. That’s why when you see all the guys that I train that are team Khabib, that’s why their ground is so darn good because they have Khabib who had his father train him on how to keep their grappling up and Khabib does that.”

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Georges St-Pierre not ruling out Khabib Nurmagomedov as opponent for grappling match

Could Georges St-Pierre finally compete against Khabib Nurmagomedov? 

LAS VEGAS – Could [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] finally compete against [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]?

Former welterweight and middleweight champion St-Pierre will take part in a UFC Fight Pass Invitational no-gi jiu-jitsu match Dec. 14, but does not have an opponent yet.

Three names were proposed to St-Pierre in a question – Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman and Anderson Silva. He revealed that the UFC offered him a list of names, and confirmed one of those three is on it.

“They are all very attractive, but everybody has a different agenda,” St-Pierre told MMA Junkie and other reporters Thursday on the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet. “Some are training for upcoming title fights, some are maybe too heavy, some are too light, some just retired and want nothing to do with competition.

“I received a list from the UFC today. We’re going to check and look to see who’s available, and I’m going to make a decision with the UFC and with my people to make sure we go up against someone they think the people want to see me compete against.”

However, Nurmagomedov is not one of them. When asked if “The Eagle” would be the ultimate choice, St-Pierre didn’t dismiss the possibility entirely.

“It could be,” St-Pierre responded. “There’s a lot of other potential interesting matchups, but it could be. Everybody has a different agenda, a different schedule, and we’ll see. Khabib was not on the list, but I have to make sure to see who’s available.”

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Aljamain Sterling: Charles Oliveira in lightweight GOAT debate with Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling thinks Charles Oliveira should be included in any conversation about the greatest lightweight of all time.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] should be included in any conversation about the greatest lightweight of all time.

To many, that title is currently held by undefeated former UFC champ [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], but Sterling sees former champ Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) closing the gap.

“Greatest of all time, the GOAT, what’s the criteria for that?” Sterling asked on his YouTube channel. “Is it just accolades? Because if it’s just accolades, Charles Oliveira has a pretty damn good resume. From title defenses, style points on finishes, been in the game longer.”

Oliveira made quick work of the streaking Beneil Dariush in this past Saturday’s UFC 289 co-main event and now holds finishes over every fighter currently in the UFC’s top-five lightweight rankings. His 20 UFC finishes is also the record for most stoppage wins in company history.

Based on his resume and his past 11-fight winning streak, which was snapped by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, Sterling makes a case for “Do Bronx.”

“So for me, I think he has to be within that conversation,” Sterling added. “You have to include Charles Oliveira in that against Khabib. The next best thing right now seems like it’s Makhachev closing in. I’m really looking at title defenses and then winning streak, as well.

“Not like your entire career, I’m talking like in the UFC. Getting those type of win streaks in the UFC, it’s very difficult to do. And seeing someone bounce back from an ‘L’ the way that Oliveira has done time and time again in his career, there’s something to be said about that.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Timur Khizriev: Dagestan-Dublin rivalry doesn’t exist outside Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor was volatile, but Timur Khizriev said the hate stopped with them.

CHICAGO – [autotag]Timur Khizriev[/autotag] will fight an Irishman Friday at Bellator 297, but there’s nothing but respect.

Though one of the most volatile rivalries in MMA history, [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], was between a Dagestani and Irishman, Khizriev (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) thinks the bad feelings are limited to those individuals.

“To be honest, you’ve caught me off guard. I hadn’t even thought of such a thing that Dagestan vs. Ireland. I think it’s just a coincidence. Obviously with Conor and Khabib, those are big names. For me, it doesn’t really matter. I know they have a lot of great fighters in Ireland, but I don’t see it as a rivalry necessarily.”

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Khizriev, 27, takes on former UFC fighter [autotag]Richie Smullen[/autotag] (10-2-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) in a preliminary featherweight bout at Winstar Arena. It’s all respect.

“I have nothing against this opponent,” Khizriev said. “I’ve checked him. He’s pretty good. I pretty much prepare myself every time the same way, no matter who the opponent is. Man, I just believe God’s will. Whatever is going to be is going to be.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.