Khabib Nurmagomedov's 5 best UFC fights

#3 vs. Rafael Dos Anjos, UFC on Fox 11 – 04/19/14

Before he became UFC Lightweight champion, Rafael Dos Anjos was a victim of Khabib

When a potential match with top contender Gilbert Melendez fell through due to a contract dispute between Melendez and the UFC, Nurmagomedov was instead matched with rising star – and future UFC Lightweight champ – Rafael Dos Anjos in the main event of the preliminary card of the UFC on Fox show in April 2014.

If fans were expecting Dos Anjos – clearly a tougher calibre of opponent than Khabib had faced to that point – to really test ‘The Eagle’, then they would’ve come away severely disappointed. It was another one-sided beatdown in favour of the Dagestani fighter, and it was one that perhaps showed off exactly why he’s such a tricky opponent more than any of his other UFC outings.

For the full fifteen minutes, Nurmagomedov put a beating on the Brazilian – swarming him with surprisingly quick flurries, taking him down at will, beating him up on the ground and never tiring for a second. At times Khabib’s striking looked rudimentary, if not wild, but it didn’t matter – he was simply too fast when coming forward for ‘RDA’ to handle.

The fact that following this loss, Dos Anjos went on to beat Benson Henderson and then wrestled the Lightweight title away from Anthony Pettis almost said more about Khabib than it did about the Brazilian. Dos Anjos held the title, but many fans felt Khabib was the uncrowned champion.