Khabib Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov was born on September 20, 1988, in the village of Sildi in Dagestan’s Tsumadinsky District, the second of three children.⁠[1]

He grew up under the tutelage of his father, a wrestler turned coach who devoted his life to training Dagestan’s youth as an alternative to extremism; in September 1997, days after his ninth birthday, his father filmed him wrestling a chained bear cub.⁠[2]

He made his MMA debut in Poltava, Ukraine, in September 2008 and was 4–0 within a month.⁠[1]

In October 2009 he won gold in the under-74 kg class at the World Combat Sambo Federation World Championships, and in 2010 he won the under-82 kg title.⁠[1]

He made his UFC debut at UFC on FX 1 in Nashville, submitting Kamal Shalorus in the third round, and followed it with a win over veteran Gleison Tibau.⁠[3]

He beat Abel Trujillo by unanimous decision at UFC 160, landing 21 of 27 takedown attempts by FightMetric’s count, a UFC record for a single fight.⁠[4]

At UFC on FOX 11 in Orlando he beat Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision with 30–27 scores; both men entered on five-fight UFC win streaks.⁠[5]

The UFC booked him against top-ranked lightweight Edson Barboza for UFC 219 on December 30.⁠[6]

In April 2018 he defeated Al Iaquinta for the vacant UFC lightweight title.⁠[7]

He retained the title by submitting Conor McGregor in the fourth round at UFC 229, then leapt over the cage toward McGregor’s corner and attacked his training partner Dillon Danis; at least two members of his team entered the Octagon and attacked McGregor, though later footage appeared to show McGregor throwing the first punch. Three people were arrested.⁠[8]

He apologised afterward but cited McGregor’s pre-fight comments about his religion, his country and his father.⁠[9]

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to suspend him for nine months and fine him $500,000, backdated to October 6, 2018; McGregor received six months and a $50,000 fine. His manager Ali Abdelaziz called the penalties unfair. UFC 229 was the UFC’s best-selling pay-per-view, and McGregor had attacked a bus he was riding in Brooklyn in April 2018.⁠[10]

In May 2019, during Ramadan, he attended a meal in Chechnya at the invitation of its leader Ramzan Kadyrov, not his first visit as Kadyrov’s guest; Kadyrov’s administration has been condemned by the United Nations and others over alleged abuses of gay men. His manager Ali Abdelaziz responded that the local culture centres on respect for elders and that the matter was political.⁠[11]

Sports journalist Karim Zidan argued in 2020 that his long association with Kadyrov allowed the Chechen leader to use athletes to divert attention from his human rights record.⁠[2]

He submitted interim champion Dustin Poirier with a rear-naked choke at 2:06 of the third round at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi to unify the lightweight title and move to 28–0.⁠[12]

Afterward he donated a large portion of his purse to Poirier’s charity and praised his opponent’s character in his post-fight interview.⁠[13]

His bout with Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, set for April 18 in New York, fell through for a fifth time during the coronavirus pandemic, as he was in Russia and unable to travel.⁠[14]

His father and trainer, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, died in Moscow; Abdulmanap had also shaped the careers of many athletes from the region, including Islam Makhachev.⁠[15]

He submitted interim champion Justin Gaethje with a triangle choke at 1:34 of the second round at UFC 254, his first fight since his father’s death; afterwards he left his gloves in the centre of the Octagon and announced his retirement.⁠[16]

In the cage he said he had promised his mother he would not fight again without his father, and he retired with a 29–0 record.⁠[13]

The 32-year-old Russian retired already touted as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.⁠[17]

Russian journalist Azamat Bostanov said he had bought the Dagestan-based promotion Gorilla Fighting Championship for $1 million and would rename it Eagle Fighting Championship after his nickname.⁠[18]

UFC president Dana WhiteDana WhiteDana White is an American sports executive and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the mixed martial arts promotion UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). In 2001 he and the Fertitta brothers bought the near-bankrupt UFC for $2 million, and the reality show The Ultimate Fighter brought the sport into the mainstream; the UFC was sold in 2016 for about $4 billion and became part of TKO Group Holdings in 2023. He is also a longtime supporter of Donald Trump and has been a director of Meta since late 2024.Open the full entry declared him officially retired, with the vacant lightweight title to be contested by Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira.⁠[19]

He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and paid an emotional tribute to his father at the ceremony.⁠[20]

He announced on Instagram that he was leaving his coaching role to be with his family, making a clean break from MMA.⁠[21]

After a brief hiatus he returned to the sport to corner Islam Makhachev for his lightweight title defense at UFC 302.⁠[22]

In January 2025 he was removed from a Frontier flight from Las Vegas to San Francisco after a dispute over his exit-row seat. Frontier said he did not respond when asked multiple times whether he was willing and able to assist in an emergency; on Instagram he said he had agreed to help, called the agent rude and suggested racial or national motives, which Frontier denied. He was rebooked on a flight about an hour and a half later.⁠[23]

That month Islam Makhachev, whom he coaches, broke his record for consecutive UFC lightweight title defenses with four; he also coaches his cousins Umar and Usman Nurmagomedov.⁠[24]

In February 2026 seven fighters he coaches competed at PFL’s Road to Dubai event at the Coca-Cola Arena, at a time when Makhachev topped the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and Usman Nurmagomedov led the PFL’s.⁠[25]

He appeared on episode 500 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast; the conversation was held entirely in Russian and dubbed into English with voice cloning. Topics included Dagestan’s fighting culture, mountain training, his pressure style, the McGregor fight, coaching, Islam Makhachev, football, Dubai and God.⁠[26]

X: Public account: https://x.com/TeamKhabib (opens in a new window)⁠[26]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KhabibTheEagle (opens in a new window)⁠[26]

Instagram: Public account: https://www.instagram.com/khabib_nurmagomedov/ (opens in a new window)⁠[26]

UFC: Official website: https://www.ufc.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[27]