Khabib Nurmagomedov recently opened up about his undefeated status as an MMA fighter and outlined the biggest challenges that come with the honor.
Nurmagomedov is among the biggest names in mixed martial arts and is widely considered to be the greatest lightweight champion of all time. Over the course of his career, he beat high-profile opponents like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza, and Rafael Dos Anjos.
The Dagestani grappling savant hung up his gloves for good after his second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020, and he retired with an incredible 29-0 record as a professional.
In a recent interview, ‘The Eagle’ opened up about the challenges of being an undefeated fighter in MMA and spoke about having to deal with the “pressure” that comes along with it. He said:
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“When you’re undefeated, it’s a lot of pressure, very big pressure. You don’t want to lose, so you push yourself to the limit every day in training. You just train very, very hard. If I can describe it in one word, it’s pressure… Without handling pressure, you cannot be undefeated. You have to handle this.”
When Khabib Nurmagomedov got honest about being friends with his former opponents
Last December, Khabib Nurmagomedov spoke about whether he maintains a relationship with his former opponents.
In an interview with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand at the World Sports Summit (via @ChampRDS on X), the former UFC lightweight champion explained why he didn’t believe in being friends with former opponents and said:
“No, we have to be nice. But it’s never gonna be friends. This guy tries to smash your face. How are you gonna be friends with him? It’s different. In your game, you guys play [football], in our game, we fight. It’s two different [things].”
Edited by Nishant Zende.