Khabib Nurmagomedov is not only an outstanding fighter, but also an odious person. He made his MMA debut in September 2008 and collected four wins in less than a month. On October 11, Nurmagomedov became the first champion of the Atrium Cup tournament, defeating his three rivals in the Moscow tournament and for the next three years he remained invincible.
In 2011, he participated in seven fights, each of which won, and his ideal statistics of 16-0 in the regional tournaments of Russia and Ukraine was enough to get into the UFC.
The list of his achievements can be continued, but we decided to touch upon less known but interesting facts about Khabib Nurmagomedov.
10. Habib vs. EA Games
EA Games Studiowhich creates the official UFC games, made a mistake when portraying Khabib Nurmagomedov. In the game, his character was baptized, which Khabib, as a devout Muslim, was offended, because this is a Christian symbol.
Who knows what would happen if it touched another person, but in the case of Nurmagomedov, EA Games quickly changed the game to correct this inaccuracy after a public protest by Nurmagomedov and his fans.
9. Fought with a teddy bear
Fans of Nurmagomedov probably know this, but many others do not. As a child, Khabib Nurmagomedov had a tough training regime, but he helped shape his strength and power. In the UFC, he is one of the best fighters and he developed this skill in his childhood, fighting ... bears.
His coaches, including his father, did not wish young Habib to die, so they did not force him to fight an adult bear, but even a teddy bear is cool. In addition, the animals were also chained so that trainers could restrain them if something went wrong. But still, pretty crazy to see a child fighting a bear. He still does this from time to time, but mainly for fun.
The video with the fight first hit the Internet in 2017, although Habib fought this bear at least a couple more times: in 2014 and 2019. The video caused a wave of indignation among members of the public organization PETA (Animal Rights Protection), who demanded that the UFC management review their relationship with the current champion until he learns to respect animals.
8. Personal life
Despite the great popularity and activity on social networks, the personal life of a fighter remains a mystery behind seven seals.
It is known that he is married and the father of two children, but none of the strangers has ever seen the face of his wife: she always puts on a dense burqa that even hides her eyes. It looks rather ridiculous (for those who do not support such things), so all organizations that are fighting for the rights of women have long rebelled against Khabib.
7. Won 10 battles with a choke technique
On September 7, 2019, after the period of ineligibility ended, Habib won the match with Dustin Porrier, which was held as part of UFC 242. Dagestan was able to defeat with the help of asphyxiation, which was the 10th such victory in his career. We can safely say that this is his crown chip.
6. Goes to fights in the hat
A fluffy headdress made of fur (sheep or karakul) is Khabib's favorite accessory in which he regularly appears in the ring. He also likes to give hats to other celebrities. For example, Nurmagomedov was invited to a Real Madrid match against Real Sociedad, in which Creamy won 5-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo, who still played for the club.
The Portuguese signed his T-shirt and presented Nurmagomedov with a T-shirt and a ball, and the fighter in return presented him with a hat. Habib made a similar gift to Mike Tyson, receiving an autographed glove from him.
5. Idol - Fedor Emelianenko
Khabib Nurmagomedov repeatedly expressed his respect to the Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko, calling him his source of inspiration. The way Fedor behaves during and after the battle, how he reacts to victories and defeats, how he communicates with the press - all this Khabib respects and is guided by this. Although, taking public statements and behavior, it’s hard to believe, since Fedor Emelianenko always behaved differently.
4. Black Star scandal
Returning to the topic of behavior, talking about this scandal is extremely appropriate. It all started in September 2018, when Black Star canceled the concert of Yegor Creed in Makhachkala due to threats received by the artist. Habib did not miss the opportunity to comment on this event by writing in the social networks “Low loss”.
Creed did not remain silent and wrote a large return post, in which he noted that for his fans who were waiting for the concert - this is still a loss. The artist also noted that all tickets were sold in advance, which indicates interest in his work on the part of the residents of Dagestan.
Habib was harsh in his answer and went directly to insults, defending his opinion. After that, Timati joined the skirmish, taking the side of his ward, but this had no effect and the Dagestan remained in his opinion, issuing a new portion of rudeness.
In general, he did not prove himself in this situation in the best way: not to love Creed’s songs is okay, but throwing insults is too much, especially for a public person. However, this only speaks of Nurmagomedov’s human qualities and does not in any way detract from his merits as a fighter, and more importantly - victory in a cage or behavior in life - everyone decides for himself.
3. The most popular Instagram of Russia
With 18 million Instagram followers, Nurmagomedov knows how to turn his fighter skills into popularity. His posts, often provocative, circulate the whole world, causing a resonance. Because of this, many foreigners signed up for it, especially since Habib speaks five languages fluently and often communicates with his fans in Russian, English and Arabic.
2. The fight with McGregor
We will not describe in detail the scandalous antics of both fighters before the fight, as well as how the Dagestani “destroyed” Conor in a cage. Too much has already been written about this, so we’ll talk about how much weight loss can be a dangerous thing.
It is known that Nurmagomedov, reducing weight to fight with McGregor, suffered from crampsthat says two things. First of all, weight loss is very dangerous. In addition, it also shows how decisive and insane Khabib Nurmagomedov is if he copes with this and still defeats McGregor.
1. 28 victories and not a single defeat
The main achievement of Khabib Nurmagomedov at the moment is 28 victories and not a single defeat. He won the last victory over Dustin Porrier, which brought him the second award in his career for the best fight of the evening (the first time against Edson Barboz).
He is the reigning lightweight champion with two successful title defenses. In addition, Habib is the European champion in pankration, the European champion in army hand-to-hand combat, and also the holder of the record for the number of takedowns in one battle - 21 (in the battle against Abel Trujillo).
Habib also succeeded in combat sambo, becoming the champion of Russia and two-time world champion. Given that he is only 31 years old, there is probably more than one peak ahead of him that he will conquer.