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Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has been retired for over two years now, but ‘The Eagle’ remains at the forefront of the minds of fans, many of whom wish he’d stuck around.
Because of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s somewhat early retirement, UFC fans missed out on a number of potential bouts involving him, some of which could’ve been truly huge.
With the native of Dagestan recently naming three opponents he’d have liked to have faced in the octagon, it’s worth looking back at what might’ve been – and whether he could’ve remained unbeaten had he faced some of them.
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Here are five Khabib Nurmagomedov fights that we missed out on in the UFC.
#5. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Anthony Pettis
In his most recent interview, Khabib Nurmagomedov named three specific opponents that he would’ve liked to have faced in the UFC, and while two were pretty obvious choices, the third came out of left field somewhat.
The third fighter Khabib named was former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, with ‘The Eagle’ stating that in 2014-15, when ‘Showtime’ was in his prime, he “really, really wanted to fight this guy”.
By the time Khabib claimed the lightweight title in 2018, it’s fair to say that Pettis was past his prime. After losing to Rafael Dos Anjos in his second title defense in early 2015, ‘Showtime’ only won another two fights at 155lbs before departing the promotion in 2020.
However, when you consider that ‘The Eagle’ defeated Dos Anjos a year before his shot at Pettis, had things gone differently, Khabib definitely could’ve fought ‘Showtime’ while he was still at his peak.
Who would’ve won? With the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard to believe that Pettis would’ve had any answer for Khabib’s pressure, takedowns and top control. At the time, though, ‘Showtime’ was a remarkably dangerous fighter while Khabib hadn’t quite reached his prime – meaning it would definitely have been a fun fight to watch.
#4. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Charles Oliveira
While Islam Makhachev, protégé of Khabib Nurmagomedov now holds the UFC lightweight title, it’s probably arguable that the fighter who had the most instant success after ‘The Eagle’ retired was Charles Oliveira.
‘Do Bronx’ claimed the title vacated by Khabib by defeating Michael Chandler in the summer of 2021. He then defended it successfully against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje – both former victims of Khabib – before losing to Makhachev earlier this year.
By the time that Khabib retired, Oliveira was surging up the ranks, riding a seven-fight win streak that dated back to 2018. Had ‘The Eagle’ stuck around, ‘Do Bronx’ likely would’ve been his next challenger thanks to a win over Tony Ferguson that came a couple of months later.
It’s hugely unfortunate that we never got to see this bout. Sure, Makhachev largely whitewashed Oliveira in their recent clash, but quite whether Khabib would’ve done the same thing is a fair question.
‘Do Bronx’ remains the most dangerous fighter in the entire UFC from his back. At the time he’d have fought Khabib, his striking still would’ve been largely overlooked, too – giving him a potential secret weapon against the Dagestani.
Realistically, Khabib probably would’ve won this fight, preventing Oliveira’s eventual title reign, but it definitely would’ve been great to see. It’s a pity we missed it.
#3. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Michael Chandler
One fighter who timed his jump to the UFC badly in terms of a potential fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov is Michael Chandler. The former Bellator MMA lightweight champion made his move to the world’s biggest promotion in early 2021 – right after Khabib retired.
Since his arrival, ‘Iron Mike’ has developed into a firm fan favorite, despite actually losing more bouts in the octagon than he’s won. He holds knockout wins over Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson, but has suffered losses to Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and most recently, Dustin Poirier.
However, were Khabib still competing today, there’s no doubt that fans would probably be clamoring for a clash between him and Chandler. Simply put, ‘Iron Mike’ has quickly become a fighter that everyone wants to see in the biggest fights, win or lose.
Could Chandler have pushed Khabib to the limit? Despite his three octagon losses, it definitely could’ve been possible. His powerful wrestling game would’ve at least given him a chance to prevent the takedown, and on the feet he hits incredibly hard.
Sure, Khabib whitewashed two similar fighters in Gaethje and Poirier, but a fight against Chandler definitely would’ve been fun. It would’ve drawn plenty of money, too. This one definitely ranks amongst the best fights involving ‘The Eagle’ that we missed out on.
#2. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson
The second of the three fighters named by Khabib Nurmagomedov in his recent interview about opponents he wished he’d faced was Tony Ferguson. In this instance, nobody could blame the UFC for not attempting to set it up.
Remarkably, the promotion attempted to book ‘The Eagle’ against ‘El Cucuy’ on no fewer than five occasions, only to see the bout fall through each time. Both men suffered injuries, often freakish ones. In 2020, when both were healthy, the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to the fight.
So what would’ve happened had the two met in the octagon? Given the issues that Ferguson has had since 2020 – he now hasn’t won a single bout since defeating Donald Cerrone in 2019 – it feels easy to say that it would’ve been another Khabib whitewash.
However, in his prime, Ferguson blended dangerous grappling, nasty striking, a seemingly unlimited gas tank and a chin of iron. Had ‘El Cucuy’ faced the Dagestani on any of their first four bookings, anything could’ve happened.
Overall, from a stylistic standpoint, this fight may well stand as the biggest missed opportunity in UFC history.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre
While a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson would’ve been amazing to watch from a stylistic point of view, there’s no denying the fact that the biggest fight involving Khabib that UFC fans missed out on would’ve been a clash with Georges St-Pierre.
Stating that St-Pierre was “like a role model” for him when he was a young fighter, Khabib even named the Canadian as one of the opponents he’d have loved to have faced in the octagon. However, the timelines never really matched up for the two.
By the time that ‘The Eagle’ claimed the UFC lightweight title in 2018, St-Pierre had been retired for nearly six months. By the point that Khabib became a true superstar – some point after his famous victory over Conor McGregor – ‘GSP’ was never likely to come back.
If he had been willing to return, though – and the fight was reportedly one he considered asking the UFC for at one point – then could St-Pierre have added a loss to Khabib’s ledger?
In his prime, he’d almost certainly have been favored to win. After all, he would’ve been the bigger man in the octagon, and was renowned for dealing with top-class wrestlers like Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck with relative ease.
Regardless of the result, though, this fight would’ve been huge, and could well have gotten close to the kind of pay-per-view numbers set by Khabib’s clash with McGregor. It’s definitely a pity we never got to see it.
