How strong is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s MMA record, really?
Who has Khabib fought?
UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will face UFC Interim-Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje for the undisputed unified title this Saturday on PPV.
Khabib Nurmagomedov puts his impressive 28-0 record on the line on Fight Island.
But how impressive is Khabib’s record really?
Khabib Nurmagomedov MMA record
| 28 matches | 28 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 8 | 0 |
| By submission | 10 | 0 |
| By decision | 10 | 0 |
But who has Khabib fought, really?
In the UFC, Khabib has indeed faced some great fighters. Of course, he’s fought Connor McGregor. He has also fought the likes of Edson Barboza and Rafael Dos Santos.
But Khabib didn’t finish Barboza or Dos Santos. Instead, he won by decision.
50% of Khabib’s UFC wins by decision
In fact, 6 of his 12 wins in the UFC have come by judges’ decision. Indeed, it is interesting to note that Khabib has left 50% of all of his wins in the UFC in the hands of the judges.
Khabib has fought no name fighters
Take a look at his record and see if you recognize all the names of the fighters he has fought in the UFC. Do you know Darrell Horshcer? What about Kamal Shalorus? See for yourself:
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event |
| Justin Gaethje | UFC 254 | |||
| Win | 28–0 | Dustin Poirier | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 242 |
| Win | 27–0 | Conor McGregor | Submission (neck crank) | UFC 229 |
| Win | 26–0 | Al Iaquinta | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 223 |
| Win | 25–0 | Edson Barboza | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 219 |
| Win | 24–0 | Michael Johnson | Submission (kimura) | UFC 205 |
| Win | 23–0 | Darrell Horcher | TKO (punches) | UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans |
| Win | 22–0 | Rafael dos Anjos | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne |
| Win | 21–0 | Pat Healy | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 165 |
| Win | 20–0 | Abel Trujillo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 160 |
| Win | 19–0 | Thiago Tavares | KO (punches and elbows) | UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping |
| Win | 18–0 | Gleison Tibau | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 148 |
| Win | 17–0 | Kamal Shalorus | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller |
| Win | 16–0 | Arymarcel Santos | TKO (punches) | ProFC 36: Battle on the Caucas |
| Win | 15–0 | Vadim Sandulskiy | Submission (triangle choke) | ProFC / GM Fight: Ukraine Cup 3 |
| Win | 14–0 | Khamiz Mamedov | Submission (triangle choke) | ProFC 30: Battle on Don |
| Win | 13–0 | Kadzhik Abadzhyan | Submission (triangle choke) | ProFC: Union Nation Cup Final |
| Win | 12–0 | Ashot Shaginyan | TKO (punches) | ProFC: Union Nation Cup 15 |
| Win | 11–0 | Said Khalilov | Submission (kimura) | ProFC: Union Nation Cup 14 |
| Win | 10–0 | Alexander Agafonov | TKO (corner stoppage) | M-1 Selection Ukraine 2010: The Finals |
| Win | 9–0 | Vitaliy Ostroskiy | TKO (punches) | M-1 Selection Ukraine 2010: Clash of the Titans |
| Win | 8–0 | Ali Bagov | Decision (unanimous) | Golden Fist Russia |
| Win | 7–0 | Shahbulat Shamhalaev | Submission (armbar) | M-1 Challenge: 2009 Selections 9 |
| Win | 6–0 | Eldar Eldarov | TKO (punches) | Tsumada Fighting Championship 3 |
| Win | 5–0 | Said Akhmed | TKO (punches) | |
| Win | 4–0 | Shamil Abdulkerimov | Decision (unanimous) | Pankration Atrium Cup 1 |
| Win | 3–0 | Ramazan Kurbanismailov | Decision (unanimous) | |
| Win | 2–0 | Magomed Magomedov | Decision (unanimous) | |
| Win | 1–0 | Vusal Bayramov | Submission (triangle choke) | CSFU: Champions League |
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s MMA record before the UFC
Take a look again at the fighter’s Khabib fought before landing in the UFC. Do you recognize any of the names of those fighters?
What’s even more interesting is that Khabib went on a run there where he won three fights in a row by triangle choke!? Since when has Khabib been on his back? And when is the last time you saw a really good fighter get triangled in the modern era of the UFC? Anderson Silva’s last second triangle of Chael Sonnen comes to mind, but now we are talking about old school fighters from a different era.
Khabib has been fed tomato cans
I don’t know, maybe Khabib has just improved that much that he doesn’t get put on his back any more. It just seems odd that the Khabib we know in the UFC would have never had to fight off his back. It seems more likely that he was fed some tomato cans to play with, and maybe he made some side bets with his teammates that he could pull of the triangle. They told him he got lucky, so he said, no, watch this, I’ll do it again. Toying with his opponents.
Justin Gaethje MMA record
Now let’s take a look at Justin Gaethje’s MMA record:
| 24 matches | 22 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 19 | 2 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event |
| Khabib Nurmagomedov | UFC 254 | |||
| Win | 22–2 | Tony Ferguson | TKO (punches) | UFC 249 |
| Win | 21–2 | Donald Cerrone | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje |
| Win | 20–2 | Edson Barboza | KO (punch) | UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje |
| Win | 19–2 | James Vick | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick |
| Loss | 18–2 | Dustin Poirier | TKO (punches) | UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje |
| Loss | 18–1 | Eddie Alvarez | KO (knee) | UFC 218 |
| Win | 18–0 | Michael Johnson | TKO (punches and knees) | The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale |
| Win | 17–0 | Luiz Firmino | TKO (doctor stoppage) | WSOF 34 |
| Win | 16–0 | Brian Foster | TKO (leg kicks) | WSOF 29 |
| Win | 15–0 | Luis Palomino | TKO (punches) | WSOF 23 |
| Win | 14–0 | Luis Palomino | TKO (leg kicks and punches) | WSOF 19 |
| Win | 13–0 | Melvin Guillard | Decision (split) | WSOF 15 |
| Win | 12–0 | Nick Newell | TKO (punches) | WSOF 11 |
| Win | 11–0 | Richard Patishnock | TKO (punches and elbows) | WSOF 8 |
| Win | 10–0 | Dan Lauzon | KO (punches) | WSOF 6 |
| Win | 9–0 | Brian Cobb | TKO (leg kicks) | WSOF 3 |
| Win | 8–0 | Gesias Cavalcante | TKO (doctor stoppage) | WSOF 2 |
| Win | 7–0 | Adrian Valdez | TKO (punches) | Rage in the Cage 164 |
| Win | 6–0 | Drew Fickett | KO (punch) | Rage in the Cage 163 |
| Win | 5–0 | Sam Young | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Rage in the Cage 162 |
| Win | 4–0 | Marcus Edwards | Decision (unanimous) | ROF 43: Bad Blood |
| Win | 3–0 | Donnie Bell | TKO (punches) | ROF 42: Who’s Next |
| Win | 2–0 | Joe Kelso | TKO (punches) | BTT MMA 2: Genesis |
| Win | 1–0 | Kevin Croom | KO (slam) | ROF 41: Bragging Rights |
As you can see, Justin Gaethje boasts an impressive MMA record as well. However, Gaethje is 5-2 in the UFC. He lost to Eddie Alverez, and he lost to Dustin Porier, who Khabib beat.
Before joining the UFC, Gaethje enjoyed KO victories over the likes of Drew Ficket and Dan Lauzon. Gaethje also won a split decision over Melvin Guillard before landing a contract with the UFC.
Gaethje: Nothing but knock-outs
Take a look again. In his last three UFC fights, Gaethje has knocked out Edson Barbosa, Donald Cerrone, and Tony Ferguson.
Hidden dangers of the Causus Mountains of Dagestan
Maybe those guys Khabib triangled in Dagestan and the Ukraine were better wrestlers than him, and they took him down, and he had to submit them from his back. We just don’t know about those guys because they never made it out of the Former Soviet Union like Khabib.
The Eagle sits atop a precarious perch
Well, the Eagle has landed in Abu Dhabi. And Justin Gaethje will be looking to take off his head with a knock out heard round the world.
I’m looking forward to a great fight.
Prediction
Odds makers currently have Nurmagomedov as a -330 favorite, while they have Gaethje as a +270 underdog.
Upon landing on Yas Island, Gaethje admitted that he has never been so far away from his home town of Safford, Arizona. You can bet that he didn’t go all that way to lose.
With all the knockouts on his record and his background in NCAA Division I wrestling we expect Gaethje to be Khabib’s toughest opponent to date.
However, Khabib has shown, time and again, that he will do whatever it takes to grind out the rounds in order to place the outcome of the fight in the hands of the judges. And while in our hearts we would like this time to be different, history tells it that Khabib will win by decision.
- Returning to Jiu Jitsu after the pandemic 5 principals to keep in mind
- What I’ve learned after a year of not training Jiu-Jitsu
- Is Khabib Nurmagomedov really the GOAT?
- UFC’s Shavkat Rakhmonov: The Nomad and the Cowboy Killer, and proper guillotine technique
- UFC 254 a strong fight card: Oliveira vs Rakhmonov and Murphy vs Shakirova
