Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career is studded with gems, don’t you agree? The Dagestani never really faced any resistance in his entire mixed martial arts career. Just dropping 2 rounds in a 29-0 career is not a stat, it’s a statement! On top of that, he became the one who put Dagestan on the MMA map with his impeccable wrestling skills. With Sambo running through his veins and late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov standing in his corner, it was nigh on impossible to beat ‘The Eagle’. But even with the boatload of accolades, the former lightweight champion became targeted. And it was all because of his striking prowess, which was truly underrated.
It’s true that escaping from his clutches was nearly impossible, and that’s reflected through Nurmagomedov’s 11 submission victories out of a total of 29 wins. However, it’s worth noting that the former undefeated lightweight champion had also secured 8 wins by KO/TKO. On top of that, 6 of these knockout wins came within the first couple of rounds. Impressive, right? And yet, people claim that his striking was below average.
About 3 months ago, even Israel Adesanya believed that Nurmagomedov was an okayish striker. Well, if one compares Islam Makhachev with Nurmagomedov, that’s a likely conclusion. On his YouTube channel, during a conversation with Robert Whittaker, ‘The Last Stylebender’ said, “He’s just more natural. Like, Khabib was always like the best of it, but his striking was still a little bit clumsy… Like, he throws hands to get close… But yeah, [Makhachev] is definitely the next level up in that clan, and his striking is just looking way more comfortable lately. Way more polished.”
To be fair to the former Dagestani champion, he won few fights where he impressed the fighting community with his striking. In his fight against Thiago Tavares, Nurmagomedov entered as a man without the longer reach, even though he was clearly the taller one. But with the power behind his punches, he brought Tavares down and put the lights out with ground and pound.
He displayed some of the elite-level boxing skills while fighting Darrel Horcher in 2016. He landed 107 strikes with an accuracy of 77%. We would say that’s higher than those of the elites. But outstriking Conor McGregor before submitting him? That’s more than impressive. And standing toe-to-toe against Justin Gaethje on the feet further cemented him as a striker. Now, after 4 years of his retirement, coach Javier Mendez decided to reflect on the time when Nurmagomedov still competed in the UFC. He shared a video of Nurmagomedov’s shadow boxing and made the world believe that ‘The Eagle’ was indeed a pretty good striker.
The AKA head honcho captioned, “Back in Aug 2019 when @khabib_nurmagomedov first arrived in UAE and We started training @nas_sc and we met our Brother @aj6544 who welcomed us with the greatest hospitality and use of @faz3 beautiful gym for training camp that we still use till this Day Thank You @faz3 for the greatest care and hospitality And Thank you Khabib for giving me a shadow Bath and Thank you Brother @warrenchang for everything you do for me Fathers Plan.”
The UFC big guns did notice Nurmagomedov’s striking prowess. After all, Dana White once commended the former lightweight champion’s striking skills when most of the fighting realm believed that it was below average. Let’s see what the UFC head honcho had to say.
Dana White backed Khabib Nurmagomedov striking even when the world said otherwise
Before we take a look at White commenting about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s striking, let’s see a more recent praise for ‘The Eagle’. During his appearance on the Overdogs Podcast, the AKA coach said, “He was killing these guys, I’m telling you.” He pointed out that Nurmagomedov had a broken foot when he competed against ‘The Highlight’ at UFC 254. And yet, he was dominating the Octagon. Mendez continued, “He was beating up everybody in the stand-up at the gym. All the killers, one by one, he’d destroy them all in stand-up. All of them. Usman [Nurmagomedov], all those guys, they couldn’t hang with him. He was that good. And people don’t realize that, because they think of the image of him back then.”
But the UFC CEO knew this way before that. During a conversation with Kevin Iole back in 2020, White complimented Nurmagomedov on his striking skills. He said, “He hits hard, and the thing is when you have a guy who wrestlers the way that he does and the damage that he does to you when you get down on your back and how hard it is to get up. All you start focusing on is not getting taken down. Which, you know, makes him able to land some big shots on people.”
And now, it’s Makhachev who carries Nurmagomedov’s legacy. Needless to say, the current lightweight champion, who will vacate the 155-pound crown to compete against the welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena, has set his aim to ensure that the Dagestani legacy lives on forever. And in the process, he has definitely made his coach and mentor proud. But the question that remains is, can he surpass Nurmagomedov’s legacy?
What do you think of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s striking prowess? Do you believe that it was an underrated weapon? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Secret Weapon Exposed as Coach Shares Unearthed Clip From 6 Years Ago appeared first on EssentiallySports.
