Deadly case for Khabib Nurmagomedov On….

 

The case for Khabib Nurmagomedov as the greatest MMA fighter of all time

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has bid the sport of mixed martial arts farewell following his second-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. The emotional defense of his title and subsequent retirement come after the passing of his father — who was also his longtime trainer — in July from COVID-19 complications.

Fictional sports lists such as this one are often debated without a clear-cut GOAT being decided because of generational differences and a variety of other factors. Considering that mixed martial arts is still relatively new, there isn’t as much of a gap between generations as in other sports. That also leaves a great deal of room for movement as MMA continues to evolve.

But at this very moment, it’s fair to say that Khabib Nurmagomedov is standing on the top of the mountain.

The first thing that stands out is that Nurmagomedov is undefeated. But that’s not what pushes him over the edge. It’s the fact that the fighter from Dagestan has won only by unanimous decision, submission or knockout. He has rarely lost a single round and has steamrolled elite fighters.

While Jones’ reign of terror has been impressive, he struggled against the likes of Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos in recent fights and Alexander Gustafsson pushed him to the limit in their first meeting seven years ago. Those are minor in the grand scheme of things but major when splitting hairs in a debate regarding the GOAT.

Emelianenko has deteriorated into a far less invincible version of “The Last Emperor” over the back third of his career, but before that he was easily the most dominant heavyweight fighter in the history of the sport during his frightening run through Pride.

St-Pierre has a strong argument for being the greatest given the level of opposition, his dominance and his being a two-division champion. But the knockout loss to perennial underdog Matt Serra in 2007 is a massive blemish when debating who is the GOAT.

Khabib’s final act has been mighty impressive. He may not have as many former champions under his belt as Jones but he absolutely has mauled his peers on his way to being undefeated. The argument against him is that his championship reign wasn’t nearly as long as those of Jones, St-Pierre, Fedor or even Silva, but there is no debating how dominant he

has been in his career.

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