5 most iconic Khabib Nurmagomedov moments in the UFC

#2. Khabib Nurmagomedov retires as the undefeated undisputed UFC lightweight champion

At UFC 254 in 2020, just three months after the tragic passing of his father, Khabib Nurmagomedov fought Justin Gaethje in a title unification bout. Gaethje won the interim title following his dominant performance against Tony Ferguson earlier that year and many believed he would be a nightmare stylistic matchup for 'The Eagle'.

Nurmagomedov put Gaethje to sleep in the second round with an exquisite mounted triangle. Moments after the finish, he broke down and fell to the canvas as he remembered his late father.

In his post-fight interview with Jon Anik, he shockingly announced his retirement. Explaining that there was no way he was going to fight without his father, Nurmagomedov revealed his desire to walk away from the sport as the undefeated, undisputed lightweight champion.

He told Jon Anik:

"Thank you for these guys, these guys with me. And with my father, more than 20 years, all my team, AKA with coach Jav [Javier Mendez], I love him so much. All my team, thank you. Today, I want to say, it was my last fight. No way I'm going to come here without my father."

Khabib Nurmagomedov retired with a perfect professional record of 29-0. Following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, he became the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world before ultimately vacating the title.

This marked the end of one of the most legendary careers in the history of mixed martial arts.

Watch a touching tribute from BT Sport depicting Khabib Nurmagomedov's relationship with his father below:

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#1. "Let's talk now!" - Khabib Nurmagomedov lashes out at Conor McGregor mid-fight before choking him out

Khabib Nurmagomedov's rivalry with Conor McGregor remains one of the most monumental milestones in the history of the UFC. The bad blood between the two fighters was rife at the time. Before Nurmagomedov fought Al Iaquinta for the vacant title in 2018, McGregor famously attacked 'The Eagle' and several other fighters while they were on a bus.

In the lead-up to their highly-anticipated grudge match, McGregor relentlessly mocked, ridiculed and belittled Nurmagomedov's family, religion and country. 'The Notorious' notably insulted the Russian champion's father, which undoubtedly added to the animosity between them.

Watch a compilation of all the trash-talk from Conor McGregor below:

As their bout edged closer, it became evident that this was going to be the biggest fight in UFC history. There were numerous elements surrounding the matchup that led to the magnitude of attention it received.

Following a bitter, contentious and somewhat dark fight week, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor finally locked horns in the main event of UFC 229 in Las Vegas.

Nurmagomedov remained largely stoic throughout fight week and seemingly brushed off most of McGregor's trash-talk. He didn't engage with the mind games, but there was an underlying feeling that he was seething throughout.

During the fight, 'The Eagle' provided a dose of his own signature style of trash talk. He could be heard repeatedly telling his Irish counterpart, "Let's talk now!" as he rained down with vicious ground-and-pound.

Nurmagomedov dominated McGregor in the first two rounds, using his trademark pressure from the top position to tire out 'The Notorious'. The former two-division champ bounced back in the third, stuffing all of the reigning Russian champ's takedown attempts.

In the fourth round, Nurmagomedov took McGregor down one final time and choked him out with a brutal neck-crank to defend his title.