Warrior profile: The Eagle A look into Khabib Nurmagomedov’s life, career, and legacy

BY MARCEL MARIAK

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full stride and nearly every city worldwide on lockdown, sporting events and news are at an all-time low. It’s no surprise that the world of combat sports, where competitors are always either face to face engaging in fisticuffs or on the ground wrestling, has cancelled all of its events and shows until the pandemic is brought under control. Unfortunately for fight fans, this means no trash talk, no exciting matchups, and certainly no epic showdowns. While competitive fighting may have come grinding to a halt, let’s take this chance to “make lemonade” and learn a bit more about some of the world’s most outstanding modern warriors.

In this issue’s Warrior Profile, we take a look into one of the world’s most successful and formidable combatants, the undisputed UFC lightweight champion, and the first Muslim to win a UFC title: Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov.

Personal life and upbringing
Born in the unforgiving and remote mountain ranges of Dagestan, Russia, Khabib Nurmagomedov grew up in one of the harshest environments in the world. The vast majority of Dagestan’s communities consist of small and sparse villages carved into the mountains. As a result, grocery stores are almost entirely nonexistent, and every single day is a fight for survival. The people of Dagestan live off the land, and everything is homegrown. Food is farmed, raised, or hunted, and even commodities that we take for granted, such as salt and water are made and collected from the landscape. For much of Khabib’s life (until he moved to California to fight and train with the AKA gym), this harsh lifestyle was his everyday experience. As a result, Khabib has made a name for himself in the UFC as one of the world’s strongest and most resilient fighters.

Like most children in Dagestan, Khabib started wrestling at an early age. At only eight years old, Khabib began to train wrestling and combat sambo under his father: Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, an army veteran and decorated Dagestani athlete. Throughout his childhood, Khabib was exposed to harsh exercise and conditioning sessions, as well as some unorthodox training practices, which regularly included wrestling (and frequently winning against) young bears. Khabib continued to study various martial arts throughout his teen years until he made his professional MMA debut in 2008.

Professional career
Khabib Nurmagomedov has taken the MMA world by storm by setting multiple records and defeating many formidable opponents. His most notable achievement is his remarkable professional record. With a 28-0 record, he has never lost or drawn a fight in his entire professional career to this day, despite going up against some of the globe’s most renowned martial artists. Some of his most notable victories include a unanimous decision win over Al Iaquinta to capture the UFC lightweight title, a KO of Thiago Tavares despite his opponent testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and the submissions of both Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Khabib also holds the record for the most takedowns in a UFC fight after he scored twenty-one takedowns over the course of three rounds on his opponent, Abel Trujillo.

Controversies
Khabib’s strict upbringing, along with his religious conviction against consuming any mind-altering substances, means that he’s not a fighter that often engages in trash talk. He made his stance on smack talk clear after his victory over Dustin Poirier, where Khabib commented, “The number one thing in MMA is respect. You have to respect your gym, teammates, coaches, and keep your gym clean; everything is about respect. MMA is not about trash talking.”

Despite his calm and respectful demeanour, Khabib got caught up in controversy during his fight against Conor McGregor. Much trash talk was exchanged between the fighters, and it reached a boiling point when McGregor and his team attacked Khabib’s bus while he was inside. Khabib retaliated after the fight by scaling the cage and attacking one of Conor’s teammates in the crowd.

Upcoming fights
Khabib’s most highly anticipated future fight is a showdown against Tony Ferguson. The contest has been cancelled five times due to injuries and health issues between the fighters, as well as due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the multiple cancellations and problems that seem to plague the eventual showdown, MMA fans are nevertheless eager to see the two legendary warriors face off.