Even in his retirement, Khabib Nurmagomedov has won the ESPY award for best MMA fighter.
The ESPYs is an award show presented by ESPN to recognize athletes, coaches, and teams in the world of sports. The annual awards started back in 1993 and continue to expand their awards across different sports.
Khabib Wins ESPY Award
Mixed martial arts is always one of the most challenging sports to judge. Especially when it comes to selecting one fighter for fighter of the year. The nominee’s list included Rose Namajunas, Amanda Nunes, and Francis Ngannou. With all of those great names, Khabib came out on top.
Who’s got your @ESPYS vote?
🗳 https://t.co/FvRErS6muc pic.twitter.com/YnPFTeFCCN
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 6, 2021
Usually, award shows are based on the performance of participants from the previous year. However, the ESPY’s have categories purely voted on by fans, which is what the best MMA fighter award must have been.
If not, the award could have strictly been due to the legacy of Nurmagomedov. As great of a fighter, as he is, Khabib only fought one time in 2020. As well as one time in 2019.
Enjoying Retirement
Nurmagomedov went down in history as one of the greatest champions in the sport. Although Khabib is retired, he still displays his passion for the game. Fans see that enthusiasm in the form of “The Eagle’ being present in the corner of fighters and giving them advice from in between rounds.
Khabib has also relished his coaching career, leading young fighters in the right direction to chase their dreams.
In addition to his presence in the sport, Nurmagomedov has also become vocal in sharing his opinions of the stories that dominate the MMA headlines.
Recently, Khabib spoke about Aljamain Sterling, his UFC bantamweight victory, and how he handled the situation against Petr Yan. Additionally, he talked about Conor McGregor and the heavily anticipated trilogy fight last weekend at UFC 264.
Congrats to Khabib for winning a coveted ESPY award.
