Issue 194

September 2021

In 2020, we witnessed the end of an era as Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts with a perfect record of 29-0.

Sinking to his knees and overwhelmed by the pent-up emotion of his father’s passing and victory over Justin Gaethje, this is the moment Khabib Nurmagomedov called time on his career, leaving the Octagon with a perfect 29-0 record. 

Undefeated fighters in any combat sport are a rarity (even Georges St-Pierre suffered two defeats) which is why those looking for a worthy comparison to Khabib have been left reaching for the likes of boxing’s Floyd Mayweather and Rocky Marciano. 

In the field of MMA his claim to be the greatest of all time is hard to gainsay, having cleaned out every challenger in one of the UFC’s strongest divisions. The truth is no-one could match his wrestling prowess and his triangle choke of Gaethje in the second round of their contest at UFC 254 was a fitting way for him to seal victory and ring down the curtain on his career. 

Farewell, Khabib. The sport is going to miss you.