Khabib Nurmagomedov Biography

Khabib Nurmagomedov was born on September 20, 1988, in the Kirovaul village in Kizilyurtovsky District (present-day Russia).

He is the second of three children of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, a war veteran and decorated athlete. He has an older brother named Muhammad Nurmagomedov and a younger sister Amina.

Khabib Nurmagomedov began undergoing combat training from a young age. In 2001, the family shifted to Makhachkala. Here, he began undertaking training in wrestling and when he turned fifteen, he also began classes in judo. Though he initially felt that the shift from wrestling to judo was challenging, his father felt it was essential that he learn to compete in a gi jacket.

When he turned seventeen, his father began training him in combat sambo. Sometime later, his family shifted to Kyiv in Ukraine where he continued his training.

In September 2008, Khabib Nurmagomedov made his debut in MMA. Within a month he secured four wins, of which three were in a single day. The following month, he won the inaugural Atrium Cup tournament championship in Moscow.

In the three years that followed, he won 12 matches, which also included his win at his M-1 Global debut in 2009. Two years later, he went on to compete for the ProFC promotion. The same year, he competed in seven fights and won every match.

His impressive record of 16 wins and no losses eventually caught the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In 2011, he signed a six-fight agreement with the UFC. He entered the lightweight division.

His debut match was against Kamal Shalorus in early 2012. He won the match in the third round. Other fighters whom he has encountered and defeated as part of his UFC matches are Gleison Tibau, Thiago Tavares, Rafael Dos Anjos, Pat Healy, and Abel Trujillo among several others.

During his match against Abel Trujillo in 2013, Khabib Nurmagomedov set a new record of 21 successful takedowns from 27 attempts. The same year, he challenged mixed martial artist Gilbert Melendez for a face-off match, and the same was set for early 2014. However, the match was later canceled and then replaced by American professional mixed martial artist Nate Diaz. This bout was also later canceled due to undisclosed reasons.

Between September 2014 and 2015, he had to cancel several matches due to injuries and ill health. He was affected due to knee and other injuries.

In 2016, he made a comeback with a win in a bout against newcomer Darrell Horcher at the UFC. In November of that year, he fought against Michael Johnson and won in the third round with a submission from the opponent.

In 2017, Khabib Nurmagomedov was scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight championship, however, he fell ill due to some complications that arose from the weight-cut process and the fight had to be canceled.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Edson Barboza faced each other at UFC 219 on December 30, 2017. Nurmagomedov dominated his opponent in all three rounds of the fight and went on to win by unanimous decision, thereby earning his first Performance of the Night bonus.

On April 7, 2018, Nurmagomedov faced Al Iaquinta at UFC 223. Nurmagomedov was in his top form and he easily defeated Iaquinta and won the fight via unanimous decision to emerge as the UFC lightweight champion.

On October 6, 2018, Khabib Nurmagomedov defended his UFC lightweight title against Conor McGregor at UFC 229 by defeating McGregor in the fourth round via submission.

The last fight of his career was in October 2020, at UFC 254, in which he defeated Justin Gaethje. Thereafter, he retired from the sport.

In 2008, Khabib Nurmagomedov was the tournament winner of the Pankration Atrium Cup.

He won the gold medal at the World Combat Sambo Championships in 2009. The same year, he won the selections at the M-1 Challenge. He also got the gold medal at the Russian Combat Sambo Championships, organized by the Combat Sambo Federation of Russia the same year.

In 2010, he won two awards for Sambo; a gold medal in the World Combat Sambo Championships (82 kg) and a silver medal in the World Cup in Combat Sambo (82 kg).

He earned two titles in 2012, for grappling. He was the Men's No-Gi Expert Welterweight Champion as well as the ADCC Rules No-Gi Expert Welterweight Champion.

He won the 2013 Staredown of the Year by Fightbooth.com. He was named the 2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year by Sherdog.com.

In 2016, he was given the title Comeback Fighter of the Year by Sherdog.com. The same year, he won the title of International Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has the record for most takedowns in a single Ultimate Fighting Championship. His record is 21 takedowns in 27 attempts.

Khabib Nurmagomedov got married to Patimat in June 2013. He has three children, a daughter, who was born in 2015, a son, who was born in 2017, and another son, who was born in 2019.

In April 2018, Khabib Nurmagomedov got into a physical brawl with fellow fighter Artem Lobov who happened to be a close friend of Conor McGregor. Two days later, McGregor confronted Khabib who was leaving on a bus along with other UFC 223 fighters. He threw a hand trolley at the window of the bus which injured Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa. McGregor fled the scene and a warrant was soon issued for his arrest. He later surrendered to the authorities and was let out on a $50,000 bail. McGregor was later charged with five days of community service and was further ordered to attend anger management classes.

In October 2018, following his victory over McGregor at UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped over the ring fence and attacked McGregor’s cornerman, Dillon Danis after the latter threw insults at him. Soon after, McGregor and Khabib’s cousin, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, got into a physical altercation which was then joined by Zubaira Tukhugov and Esed Emiragaev. As a result of the incident, Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld Khabib’s payment and later launched an investigation. In his defense, Khabib stated that it was McGregor’s trash talk and the bus incident from earlier that provoked him to this extreme. NSAC later imposed a nine-month suspension and a $500,000 fine on Khabib. However, the commission approved to release half of Khabib’s payment which was earlier withheld.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is known for his love of traditional Dagestani cuisine, especially his favorite dish called "dumpling soup," which he often enjoys with his family and friends.

Despite his tough persona in the octagon, Khabib has a soft spot for children and is actively involved in charity work, particularly supporting orphanages and schools in his native Dagestan.

Khabib is a dedicated family man and considers his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, as his biggest inspiration and mentor, shaping him into the fighter and person he is today.

An avid fan of soccer, Khabib enjoys playing the sport in his free time and is a supporter of the FC Anzhi Makhachkala team, often attending their matches when possible.

In addition to his dominant fighting skills, Khabib is also a skilled horseman and finds relaxation and joy in horseback riding, a popular pastime in his homeland of Dagestan.