Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov

 Khabib  Nurmagomedov

Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion ever, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021. With 29 wins and no losses, he retired with an undefeated record.Nurmagomedov is widely considered to be among the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on June 30, 2022.

A two-time world champion in combat sambo, Nurmagomedov has a background in wrestling, judo, and sambo. Nurmagomedov was ranked #1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings at the time of his retirement, until being removed following his title vacation in March 2021. Fight Matrix ranks him as the #1 lightweight of all time. In 2019, Forbes ranked Nurmagomedov as the No. 1 most successful Russian athlete; Nurmagomedov also topped the list of the 40 most successful Russian show business and sports personalities under 40.

Nurmagomedov is also a mixed martial arts trainer and promoter, known for founding Eagles MMA and promoting the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC). After retirement, he transitioned to being a full-time coach and cornerman before retiring from the sport completely in January 2023. Throughout his career, Nurmagomedov has become the subject of many controversies, including a longstanding affiliation with Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, questionable affiliations with oligarchs, advocacy for increased cultural censorship and misogynism.

Early life :-

Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov was born to an Avar family on 20 September 1988 in the village of Sildi in the Tsumadinsky District of the Dagestan ASSR, an autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. He has an older brother, Magomed, and younger sister, Amina. His father's family had moved from Sildi to Kirovaul, where his father converted the ground floor of their two-story building into a gym. Nurmagomedov grew up in the household with his siblings and cousins.His interest in martial arts began when watching students training at the gym. Khabib's training as a child included wrestling a bear when he was nine years old.

As is common with many children in Dagestan, he began wrestling from an early age: he started at the age of eight under the tutelage of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. 

A decorated athlete and a veteran of the Soviet Army, Abdulmanap had also wrestled from an early age, before undergoing training in judo and sambo in the military. Abdulmanap dedicated his life to coaching the youth in Dagestan, in hopes of offering an alternative to the Islamic extremism common to the region.

 Nurmagomedov frequently got into street fights in his youth, before focusing his attention on mixed martial arts. Khabib said that, along with his father, three athletes who inspired him were the American boxers Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson and the Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazário.