Do you remember Khabib Nurmagomedov? You should, but could perhaps be forgiven for wondering why.
The 27 year old from Makhachkala, Russia, well known for weighing in with his white furry papakha as well as wrestling bears, was once one of the sports biggest prospects, particularly at his naturally inhabited weight class Lightweight. After two years of injury prompted absence, however, Nurmagomedov’s momentum has suffered.
At one point, Nurmagomedov looked like the inevitable champion at 155lbs, using a mix of Sambo and wrestling to go 22 wins without being defeated. His most recent win, and easily his most impressive came against current Lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos.
If you want to see an example of how ferocious his grappling ability is, all one needs to do is to watch this fight.
It was an absolute domination. Repeatedly, against a very strong Lightweight and a very capable wrestler in Dos Anjos, Khabib ragdolled his opponent relentlessly.
That fight, along with the ones before that, showed how if Nurmagomedov gets into a clinch, or grabs a leg, he will be utterly tenacious in his attack. Like an alligator dragging its prey under the water, Nurmagomedov will grab you, hold you, take you down and drown you with his cardio.
That fight was two years ago, and despite it being Khabib’s most impressive performance, constant injuries have repeatedly halted any return to the Octagon.
First, was a knee injury ahead of his fight with Donald Cerrone at UFC 178 in September, 2014. Then, when that fight was eventually rescheduled for UFC 187 in May, 2015, another knee injury occurred due to Nurmagomedov’s rushed attempts to return.
That kept the Russian out for all of 2015, with him eventually scheduled to face off with Tony Ferguson in December. That bout was then cancelled when, you guessed it, Khabib suffered another injury.
This time though, it at least wasn’t down to the ‘old dodgy knee’ issues.
Having suffered a broken rib during wrestling training, Nurmagomedov took to his personal Instagram, where it appeared the situation was clearly starting to get to him.
“I want to apologize to my fans,” Nurmagomedov said in his post. “I broke my rib, and again I am out of the fight. I really wanted to come back, I’m not sure if i will ever come back. Thanks to my fans and my sponsors. Praise to Allah.”
His father and coach, Abdulmanap took to facebook to explain the latest injury. Citing poor training conditions, Nurmagomedov’s father discussed the injury, and offered an attempt at a minor silver lining.
“This injury is a very unpleasant situation,” said Nurmagomedov Sr. (translated via Bloodyelbow). “We tried to figure out how to train and avoid injuries, not to disappoint our fans. But we failed. Khabib stopped a takedown while working in sparring when he got injured. We couldn’t force everything.
“Too much effort was spent on flights here and there, meeting youth, and we also always had many guests at home. This isn’t a proper regime for training[…]One relief for us is that wasn’t his old injury, not his knee. A broken rib is a very common injury for wrestlers.”
Now, once again Nurmagomedov has been scheduled a fight. Once again, it’s against Tony Ferguson, who in his opponents absence has climbed the division to being on the cusp of a title shot.
In fact, if you need any further example of how impressive his performances were in the division, Nurmagomedov is currently ranked at #2, despite not fighting since 2014 (although admittedly, this could be more of a commentary on how poor the UFC ranking system, but that’s a conversation for another time).
Appearing on InsideMMA, Nurmagomedov made it clear; if he wins, he wants Ferguson’s title shot.
“He’s a tough guy; seven-fight win streak,” Nurmagomedov said. “When I’m injured last two years, he has six UFC fights. He’s one of the top guys everywhere, on the ground, striking. That’s why I take this fight, because I love challenge. My mind only think about Tony Ferguson and the 16th of April. I don’t think about Alvarez, dos Anjos and McGregor. After we’ll see what happens. I think after this fight, I deserve title shot.”
Should injury finally be stayed, the question should once again be asked. Do you remember Khabib Nurmagomedov? Because if you don’t, then on April 16, he’s going to remind you.
