"GOAT record padder" - MMA world grills Khabib Nurmagomedov's "overrated resume" as fan tweet on pre-UFC fights sparks debate

Critics often question the level of competition Khabib Nurmagomedov faced before entering the UFC. The lack of more than a few top-level fighters on 'The Eagle's' pre-UFC resume has been used to discredit the Dagestani phenom's potential all-time great status.

While he is generally regarded as the greatest lightweight of all time, his claim to being the greatest of all time, regardless of weight classes, is often dismissed. This has led to an MMA fan page criticizing Nurmagomedov on X, accusing him of padding his record.

Naturally, this drew an avalanche of reactions from fans, many of whom agreed with the tweet in question. One fan referred to 'The Eagle' as overrated.

"Most overhyped UFC fighter of all time"

Others pointed out how poor the records of his pre-UFC opponents were.

"His opponents records really was trash"

This sentiment was echoed by other comments.

"GOAT record padder"

Another comment lobbied a criticism that his rival, Conor McGregor, once launched.

"Khabib fought like 4 good ppl"

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Khabib Nurmagomedov's record being scrutinized

To make matters worse for fans, Nurmagomedov retired early. However, his reason for doing so was understandable, as the death of his father impacted him massively. Unable to continue fighting without his father in his corner, and promising his mother that he wouldn't, he retired from the sport.

While he briefly found success as a coach, Nurmagomedov later pulled back on his responsibilities as a cornerman over his desire to spend more time with his family.

---

Khabib Nurmagomedov's record features four wins over UFC champions

One of the criticisms fans launched was that Khabib Nurmagomedov supposedly only fought four good fighters. These fighters are almost certainly Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, and Rafael dos Anjos, as all four have held a UFC title, whether undisputed or interim.

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's title defenses:

Gaethje is a former interim lightweight champion and reigning 'BMF' champion. Poirier is also a former interim lightweight champion, while McGregor is a former two-division champion at both featherweight and lightweight. All three were submitted by Nurmagomedov.

Only dos Anjos, a former undisputed lightweight champion, managed to avoid being submitted by 'The Eagle,' but was nevertheless dominated.