Who was Khabib Nurmagomedov’s hardest fight? The one blemish of controversy on ‘The Eagle’s’ spotless UFC career

UFC 242 Khabib v Poirier
Who was Khabib Nurmagomedov’s hardest fight? The one blemish of controversy on ‘The Eagle’s’ spotless UFC career [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

Khabib Nurmagomedov is regarded as one of the most dominant fighters in MMA history as well as one of the greatest lightweights in UFC history.

'The Eagle' began his MMA career in 2008 and competed until his retirement in 2020. He was a force to be reckoned with inside the octagon as he would overwhelm his opponents with his wrestling and leave them visibly exhausted.

His star power continued to surge as he dominated his opponents. Arguably his most popular win was his submission over Conor McGregor at UFC 229, which holds the record for the highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history.

Nurmagomedov retired with an unbeaten 29-0 professional record and as the reigning lightweight champion. He then transitioned into a coaching role and helped guide Islam Makhachev and cousin Usman Nurmagomedov to lightweight championship wins in the UFC and Bellator respectively.

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Despite numerous attempts to convince him to return to the octagon, the UFC Hall of Famer has stuck to his promise that he will never fight again.


Who was Khabib Nurmagomedov's hardest fight?

Khabib Nurmagomedov rarely dealt with challenging moments inside the octagon as he typically stuck to his gameplan and wasn't too overzealous.

Although he had plenty of dominant wins, there was one fight that the MMA community have referenced as the lone controversial win in 'The Eagle's career. At UFC 148, the Dagestani fought Gleison Tibau in what was only his second bout inside the octagon.

At the time, Nurmagomedov had an unbeaten 17-0 MMA record and was coming off a third round submission win over Kamal Shalorus, while Tibau had a record of 27-7 and was coming off a split decision win over Rafael dos Anjos.

The bout was a fairly back-and-forth affair that saw Tibau land a few significant strikes and even take 'The Eagle' down briefly, but he was unable to do much damage to sway the judges in his favor.

Nurmagomedov wasn't able to secure a takedown, but managed to maintain control against the fence and land a few significant strikes of his own. 'The Eagle' went on to earn a unanimous decision win after all three judges scored the bout 30-27 in his favor.

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Edited by Krishna Venki
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