Issue 194

September 2021

Who is the greatest fighter in the history of MMA? It could be Khabib Nurmagomedov, but not according to him. Speaking exclusively to John Morgan for Fighters Only, he talks about friends, family, future plans, and why he’s not the GOAT.

The former UFC lightweight champion retired in 2020 with an unprecedented career record of 29 victories without suffering a single defeat, leaving the sport as the promotion’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter at the time he decided he was done. Yet Nurmagomedov, himself, isn’t comfortable calling himself the greatest of all time. 

“You know, about pound-for-pound, the greatest athlete, I don’t think someone can call himself, like, ‘I am the greatest of all time,’ Nurmagomedov told Fighters Only. “I think always there are going to be people who are going to say I am one of the greatest of all time, 100 percent. I am one of them, but I don’t want to call myself ‘the greatest of all time’ because it’s not true because we have Fedor Emelianenko. We have Georges St-Pierre. We have Jon Jones. We have Anderson Silva. We have ‘Mighty Mouse.’ We have a lot of guys, and I’m one of them. I am one of the greatest of all time, but I don’t want to call myself ‘the greatest of all time.’” 

That type of humility was a hallmark of Nurmagomedov’s fighting career, and he carries it with him even now. It’s a quality that was instilled in him by his father, famed trainer Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, as a part of “Father’s Plan,” the guiding principles instilled in the undefeated legend beginning as a child in Dagestan. 

It’s a philosophy Nurmagomedov says is as important to him now as it was in his fighting career. 

“A lot of people think Father’s Plan is, like, just grab their legs and get a takedown,” Nurmagomedov said. “No. This is about discipline. This is about religion. This is about everything, not just the sport. This is about your knowledge. It’s about everything, and this has helped me a lot. 

“Before, when I didn’t have kids, I didn’t understand this, but right now I have kids, and I understand, like, what we have to give them, what we have to tell them, you know, because kids, when they grow up – like when they are 10 years, 15 years, even like 20, 25 – in every year, you change. You change your mind. You change your view of everything, and when you have with you very smart and powerful information with good energy, your father knows this is a very big help.” 

Nurmagomedov’s father died three months before his final UFC appearance, a dominant submission win over Justin Gaethje that served as the third and final defense of his lightweight title. Nurmagomedov stunned the world by announcing his retirement immediately after the contest, leaving the sport on top at a prime athletic age of 32. 

Nurmagomedov said it was a decision that wasn’t made in haste, but rather one he had carefully considered before even beginning his training for that contest. 

“I know that would be my last fight about one month after what happened with my father,” Nurmagomedov said. “UFC was waiting for my answer. I remember when I knew, (my manager) Ali Abdelaziz was waiting for my answer, but he didn’t call me because he didn’t want to bother me after what happened. I was talking with my mother, and I knew it was going to be my last fight, but I don’t say that to anybody. I just promised my mother and jumped to the training camp.” 

Nurmagomedov hasn’t looked back since. UFC president Dana White has offered him multiple opportunities for a return, including a potential showdown with fellow all-time great St-Pierre, but Nurmagomedov has steadfastly refused to break the promise to his mother. 

“I love this life, you know, because I don’t need to follow everything like what I was supposed to follow when I was an active fighter,” Nurmagomedov said. “I just train sometimes, and sometimes not train. When I want, I go to the gym. When I don’t want to, I don’t go to the gym, you know? It’s like a free life.” 

Nurmagomedov’s life was anything but free toward the end of his fighting days. As his fame grew on a global scale – he now has nearly 30 million followers on Instagram, for example – Nurmagomedov found the constant attention a bit of a drain. Sure, he appreciated the opportunities his superstardom allowed, but it wasn’t always a comfortable role for him to play. 

“Honestly, in that moment, I didn’t really enjoy it because fame, you know, sometimes it puts pressure on your shoulders,” Nurmagomedov said. “It was, like, too much. All the time, everywhere, this follows you, and I don’t enjoy this. But I was enjoying that moment when I become best in the world, you know, because all my life I tried to become best in the world, just to show the world why I’m training so hard. It’s for medals, for belts – become best in the world – because it was my goal since when I was a kid.” 

It’s quite an accomplishment for anyone to recognized as the best in the world at what they do, and Nurmagomedov hopes that his story, with its quite meager beginnings, can serve as inspiration for others around the world. 

“That moment I enjoyed because I showed the people how you can become best in the world,” Nurmagomedov said. “Even if you’re from like, it doesn’t matter – Dagestan, Africa, or whatever – if you believe in yourself, if you train hard, if you follow your dream, you can become best in the world. This moment, I enjoyed.” 

The pressure surrounding Nurmagomedov was never more clear than in his final two career contests, which both took place in Abu Dhabi. 

As Nurmagomedov became a sporting icon for the Muslim world, his popularity in the predominantly Muslim region of the Middle East skyrocketed, and the demands for his time rose to almost incomprehensible levels. It forced him to limit his appointments with the media in the build-up to facing Gaethje at UFC 254, as well his 2019 clash with Dustin Poirier at UFC 242. On the rare occasions he did appear for press conferences and interviews, it seemed the weight of the world was on his shoulders with each answer, as he’d often pause before answering, apparently giving real thought to the context of each reply. 

Except Nurmagomedov said that’s not exactly what was happening. 

“It’s difficult because English is my third language,” Nurmagomedov said. “I have my own language, Avar. Then in 1999, when I moved from the village to the capital city, I didn’t know anything about the Russian language. It was my second language. Then once I began talking in Russian language, after that, when I moved to the U.S., since 2004 when I made my first fight in UFC, then I understand I need to learn English, you know? And, of course, all the time when I talk in English, it’s a little bit hard, and I have to think first, then talk. That’s why it’s a little bit difficult for me.” 

When you consider that revelation, it greatly changes the context of many of Nurmagomedov’s final appearances before ending his fighting career. Yes, this was an athlete who was learning to deal with the responsibility of global fame, but it was not one who sought to carefully craft his messages in order to build some sort of persona. 

Nurmagomedov says “Father’s Plan” never included the responsibility of becoming an example for others, even if the future UFC Hall of Famer does represent so many qualities worthy of admiration. 

“I never tried to be a role model,” Nurmagomedov said. “I would never do this. You know, I just was like, ‘Be yourself.’ It’s very easy. It’s very easy to just be yourself, and that’s it.” 

Oftentimes, when athletes walk away from a sport, they return some years later, fueled by a desire to answer the need for competition that resides deep inside them. It’s that fire that fuels the rise to greatness, and Nurmagomedov says it still exists in him today, though he’s able to fulfill that need by training alongside the men for whom he now serves as mentor, including the likes of Islam Makhachev and Zubaira Tukhugov, as well as his own cousins, Abubakar and Usman Nurmagomedov. 

“When I want this competition, because I feel I have it under my skin and inside my blood, I have this competition,” Nurmagomedov explained. “When I want a competition, I go to the gym. I have best guys in the world: Islam, Zubaira, Abubakar, Usman. Everybody, I can compete with them – striking, wrestling, grappling. I just go to the gym and enjoy it. I give them a hard time because, like, I have become a little bit bigger than everyone. Everybody doesn’t like this, but, you know, it’s like I feel very happy and free.” 

Nurmagomedov said he now walks around at about 195 pounds, so the idea of returning to the UFC to reclaim his lightweight belt isn’t exactly appealing. Truthfully, returning for any reason at all just doesn’t seem to make sense to him. 

“When I became the best, like, why do I have to keep competing?” Nurmagomedov asked. “For what? I won the title. I defended my belt three times. I won the biggest fight in UFC history. I fought around the world. I fight in Canada, U.S., Brazil, Abu Dhabi, in Russia – everywhere around the world, you know? I have 29 fights and 29 wins. It’s like, why do I have to keep competing?” 

For some, the answer to that question might simply be money. After all, while Nurmagomedov is certainly financially sound at this point in his life, he is still very much in demand as an athlete and could command an exorbitant fee to return to the cage. 

Nurmagomedov insists that has never been a motivation for him to compete and puts his faith in God when it comes to further income opportunities in his post-fighting days. 

“God gives everything for everybody,” Nurmagomedov said. “Before, we didn’t have nothing, and now we have money. Everything can change any minute, you know? 

“Some people, when they become famous, when they become powerful, when they have good connections with people, when they have money, they think it’s because of them they become like this. A lot of people make a mistake, like, ‘Oh, I am very strong. I train, I follow everything because I’m like this. That’s why I become a superstar or become champion.’ This is big mistake. For some people, God gives this. For other people, God doesn’t give them.” 

Nurmagomedov’s faith remains central in everything he does, and for this reason, he insists he’s comfortable in his decision to walk away from the sport in his prime. It’s the same faith he believes gave him an edge throughout his 12-year professional career. 

“I think because of my religion, I feel I am one step ahead of all fighters,” Nurmagomedov said. “I feel because I believe, anything can happen, and everything is going to be from Allah, you know, and we cannot change this. But a lot of people think if they’re going to train, if they’re going to follow, like discipline, everything, without belief in God, they think it’s going to work. No. Without belief in God, this doesn’t work. 

“First of all, you have to believe God. He’s going to give you victory, or he’s going to give you loss. After that, we have to do everything we’re just supposed to, and I think because of this, I always was one step ahead from all my opponents.” 

In his father’s absence, Nurmagomedov has now taken hold of the reins of Eagles MMA, serving as a coach and mentor to the athletes who once trained alongside him. However, it’s a role he doesn’t intend on keeping indefinitely. 

In fact, Nurmagomedov said he doesn’t really have a desire to remain in the sport as a coach but is doing so for the time being out of a sense of obligation to his former teammates, who sacrificed much in their own careers to assist his rise to greatness. 

“I don’t want to be a coach, but right now I’m doing this stuff because Islam is here, and everybody like Tagir (Ulanbekov), Usman, Abubakar, all these guys were a big reason why I became successful,” Nurmagomedov said. “They were with me all the time when I came to the U.S., when I have training camp, cutting weight, when I go to the fight, after the fight. We’ve known each other a long, long time, and when they have a fight, I cannot be home, you know, like in Dagestan. ‘Oh, I finished my work. Now you guys have to do something.’ No. I have to be here and give them advice. 

“I think this is a big responsibility, not only for them, for me, too, because I know that if my father was here, he’s going to be with them, you know? Right now, I have to support them myself.” 

When those fighters decide they’re also done competing, Nurmagomedov says he will be done coaching, as well. However, he won’t completely walk away from the sport, with a commitment to turning the MMA promotion he owns in Russia, Eagle Fighting Championship, into a pipeline for athletes in the region to make their way to the UFC. 

“A lot of the younger generation, like young fighters, they have a big opportunity to fight and become professional athletes,” Nurmagomedov said. “I want to do this because I want from this platform, that they jump to the U.S., to big arenas, and to give them a big opportunity.” 

Nurmagomedov says he doesn’t have any intentions of making money from his investment in Eagle Fighting Championship but simply hopes to help others have the same opportunity he did in his career, and he believes that Dagestan is destined to continue producing UFC champions. 

“Our traditional sport is freestyle wrestling,” Nurmagomedov said. “We have a lot of Olympic champions in freestyle wrestling, and now the last 10 years, MMA has become very popular in Dagestan. It’s very popular now, and we have a lot of young, hungry guys, that their level is already high at like 15, 16 years. They have very good, high-level fighters, even this young, and I think there is going to come more fighters, more champions from Dagestan. I believe this. 

“Even small gyms, you can go and see, like, 100 young lions training there. Every gym, even small gyms, you can go inside, and you understand that from this gym, it’s a minimum of a couple champions are going to come from a lot of the young guys in Dagestan. This sport has become very, very popular.” 

So what will Nurmagomedov use to fill his days once this MMA run is completely over? He admits he’s not exactly sure, but he’ll use the principles of “Father’s Plan” to guide the way. 

“I just don’t want to become a lazy, rich guy,” Nurmagomedov said. “I don’t want to become a lazy guy. You know, when you have everything, you don’t do nothing. You become a little bit lazy. That’s why I have to do something. 

“In this life, you cannot be lazy. Right now, I’m focused on my guys. I have family. I have business, and I travel around the world and try to make some business, be with family, and be with my brothers. Help them.” 

For a man who never wanted to be a role model, Nurmagomedov has done an awfully good job of becoming one. Now, as for that “greatest of all time” talk, he says he’s not interested in the debate. Yes, he did ask the UFC to rank him No. 1 pound-for-pound following the win over Gaethje, but Nurmagomedov sees that as simply a moment in time. “Khabib Time,” if you will. 

“After my last fight, there was a lot of discussion about the greatest – who’s the pound-for-pound,” Nurmagomedov said. “At that moment, I was pound-for-pound No. 1. At that moment, 24th October, when I finished Justin Gaethje and when I improved my record to 29-0, I was very active. I won the title, and I defended my title three times. Without question, like on that moment, I was No. 1, but I never tried to be the greatest of all time. I just tried to put my name up to one of the greatest of all time. Whoever does this, you know, and it’s always going to be discussed. Like, Daniel Cormier, myself, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Fedor, ‘Mighty Mouse.’ I think these people are the greatest of all time.” 

Nurmagomedov is right, of course, as it seems he is most of the time. There are a handful of truly great fighters across the history of MMA who deserve to be in the discussion when debating the sport’s GOAT. Of course, going with “The Eagle” as your choice isn’t a tough one to argue. But know that Nurmagomedov won’t be offended if he’s not your top choice – and he’s even willing to give that honor to a longtime friend and training partner. 

“Honestly, I don’t care about this,” Nurmagomedov said. “I don’t want people to call me the greatest. I am not the greatest. I am one of the greatest who ever did this. 

“Just put my name like on same level with Daniel Cormier,” he concludes, “and that’s it.”