This weekend, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will be competing in his 29th professional fight. If he is successful here, and in one other bout, he believes that his legacy would be one of the best in the sport’s history.
In the eyes of many, Khabib has already done enough to establish himself as one of the greatest fighters in the history of MMA. Being undefeated at 28-0, he has had basically no trouble with anybody he has ever faced in the Octagon to this point, on his way to two title defenses. However he will have his toughest test yet, when he takes on Justin Gaethje this weekend to unify the lightweight titles. For most viewers, if he can get past Justin in the same way that he has bested everyone else, there is nobody in the 155lb division who can pose a threat to the Dagestani.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov Could Be The Floyd Mayweather Of MMA
Previously both Khabib Nurmagomedov and his father have discussed the idea of the lightweight champ retiring at 30-0, which would require him to beat Justin Gaethje and one other opponent. Speaking in a recent interview, the lightweight champ seemed to suggest this option was still on the table for him. In fact, he says that doing so would give him a legacy in MMA, similar to that of Floyd Mayweather who retired in boxing at 50-0.
“Honestly, I don’t know (when I want to retire),” Nurmagomedov said. “30-0 is going to be great. It’s looking good, it sounds good. 30-0, okay. It’s going to be a great record, you know? This is like Mayweather in MMA, 30-0. We’ll see, I’m very close on this.
“Who knows?” Khabib continued. “Okay, I finish Justin Gaethje, I finish one more guy, and like dominate. I think my name is going to be always in history. I think already my name is going to be in history because two years ago what happened (with McGregor) is never going to (be forgotten). Even after 50 years, people are going to watch this fight and people are going to be impressed from this fight. This is like when Muhammad Ali and (Joe) Frazier fought in Manila. People never forget this fight.”
Do you think that Khabib Nurmagomedov will retire if he can get to 30-0? Is that even something that he will be able to achieve?
