After his UFC 254 win, Khabib Nurmagomedov made his case for being the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He has gotten his wish, as the updated rankings came out, with him surpassing Jon Jones for the top spot.
Heading into his lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje, there was already discussion about how much a win would mean for Khabib and his legacy. There were talks about him being the greatest lightweight in the sport’s history, and potentially one of the best pound-for-pound fighters out there. Then he confirmed that to be the case after choking Gaethje unconscious, leading to speculation that he was the number one pound-for-pound on the planet.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov Scores Top P4P Ranking
Following the fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov pled his case to be ranked as the number one pound-for-pound fighter, much to the disdain of the then-number one Jon Jones. However despite Jones’s protests, when the updated rankings came out earlier today, the Dageatani champion was placed at the top of the P4P list. He celebrated this with a post to his Instagram, explaining how important this was to him.
“It was work of my life, I never got anything easy, and nothing was given to me because I’m nice guy. Hard work, hope for Allah and patience, this three ingredient helps me to get successful, and of course, control and advises from my Father, who invested in me a lot of time and work.”
It should also be noted that the official UFC rankings have been updated, and Khabib is still listed as the lightweight champ, even though he announced his retirement after the fight. However that should not be taken to mean that he has changed his mind, as he explained to media when he returned to Russia. He told them that with his goal of being the best fighter in the world being achieved, he has nothing left to do in the sport.
“I did enough in the sport to be considered the best. Today I was ranked as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter so the mission is accomplished. What else is there to do? Make money? I’ll always be able to do that.”
If this is truly the end of the fighting career of Khabib Nurmagomedov, he has one of the greatest runs in combat sports history. Whether or not you think he deserves to be the number one pound-for-pound fighter alive, this is something that clearly meant a lot to the Dagestani champion.
