Seton Hall
Opinion: The greatest mixed martial artist of all time
Date: September 17, 2019By: Michael Daly
The greatest mixed martial artist of all-time happens to be an active fighter on the UFC’s roster. The greatest of all time is Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0-0).
The reason why he is the greatest fighter in the history of the sport is that no other fighter has been as dominant in their respective weight class, and he has a legitimate chance at retiring undefeated. MMA is a sport that seemingly gets the best of every fighter that steps in the cage or between the ropes.
Nurmagomedov should not be compared to someone like Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson because the lightweight division has been stacked since its inception, compared to the flyweight division that has always lacked elite talent. Taking nothing away from Johnson, the competitors in the flyweight division were not on his level and the talent gap was wider than any other division.
If someone were to look at all of the champions in the UFC currently, they would find a glaring commonality with all of the belt holders. The shared attribute is that they all have certified wrestling backgrounds. In order to rise to the top of one’s division and sustain longevity, it helps significantly being a skilled wrestler. The reason being, is that wrestling dictates where the fight will happen.
When the conversation of the “GOAT” comes up, names like Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and Johnson are thrown around. Even a name like Henry Cejudo could be thrown in the mix because of his decorated Olympic career, prior to joining MMA. The only name on that list that could possibly knock off Nurmagomedov from the top spot is Jones. At 23-years-old, Jones took the MMA world by storm when he became the youngest champion in UFC history. Jones comes from a strong junior college wrestling pedigree, as well.
His dominance is unquestioned but there have been a few fights and life choices that made fans question Jones’s desire and dedication. Jones’s up and down personal life outside of the cage has led to several years of inactivity. Recently, Jones has been on a historic run and now he is extremely active, but the Thiago Santos fight may have shown a few of his flaws.
Of course, it is hard to attempt takedowns when fighting on an injured leg like Jones was, but he ditched any plan that was designed around taking Santos down and decided to strike with him. Jones was clipped by several shots and a majority of these shots were landed when Santos suffered severe ACL, MCL, PCL, and Meniscus injuries. If Santos was healthy in this fight, the outcome might have gone badly for Jones.
On the contrary, Nurmagomedov is not afraid to strike and he is even willing to stand in the pocket and take damage, as he did against Dustin Poirier. He is more than capable of weathering any storm that comes his way. There was one sequence in the fight where it looked like Poirier was close to dropping Nurmagomedov, but the wrestling was too much for Poirier. Whenever Poirier tried to take a moment to collect himself and rest, he was immediately taken down and suffocated.
Many anti-Nurmagomedov people will knock him for not being able to make weight and his lack of striking skills. Both of those claims have been disproven by Nurmagomedov in the past 21 months. Since the Edson Barboza fight in December 2017, Nurmagomedov has been in sync with his diet and his ability to punch from a safe distance has opened up opportunities for grappling.
In the Barboza match, Nurmagomedov was pushing the pace and had Barboza on the defense during the entire fight. This level of intensity was evident in the Conor McGregor fight. McGregor stuffed a few takedown attempts from Nurmagomedov, and the Russian never relinquished his attack. Eventually, he saw an opening in McGregor’s low guard defense and knocked him down which changed the momentum of the fight.
When Nurmagomedov makes heavy contact with his opponent, it is similar to a shark smelling blood in the water. His opponents do not expect him to have as strong of an overhand right as he does. When he lands a big shot, Nurmagomedov never takes his foot off the gas and tires out his opponents.
No other fighter has ever been able to sustain their dominance over their opponent quite like Nurmagomedov has been able to do since he joined the UFC in 2012. He is able to tire out his opponent and break them down physically and mentally. His constant usage of the takedown has never been seen before. His chin has been tested on many occasions such as the Michael Johnson fight, and the Al Iaquinta fight.
His biggest test to date, came in his second fight in the octagon when he squared off against Gleison Tibau. In that bout, he managed to score a unanimous decision victory despite having to work harder on his takedown attempts than ever before. Nurmagomedov showed that he had the courage and skill to last in the world’s top promotion.
One lingering question surrounding Nurmagomedov is whether or not he can beat Tony Ferguson. The fight with Ferguson fell through four times and if the fight ever happens, it will arrive at least three years later than it should have been the first time around in 2017.
In terms of the tactical approach, Ferguson is an extreme risk-taker and is completely different from any of Nurmagomedov’s other opponents. In order to beat Nurmagomedov, one must have a strong grappling background with years of experience. Ferguson has that background and he is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. One distinct advantage that Nurmagomedov will have is that Ferguson gives up his body and flows with the takedowns. He will essentially give up his body during takedown attempts and scramble with Nurmagomedov.
Off his back, Ferguson is extremely explosive and will try to land a darce choke from any angle that he sees an opening. Ferguson is always looking for places to catch his opponent off guard and submit them. Stamina could be an issue for Nurmagomedov because of the constant flow of energy asserted during the takedown attempts. Ferguson is a cardio-machine but if there is anyone that can strike with Ferguson and take control of him on the ground, it is Nurmagomedov.
If this fight were to happen between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, it will feature high level grappling between a traditional grappler and a guy that is a free-flowing submission guru. In an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Ferguson spoke about the prospects of fighting Nurmagomedov on Dec. 14; “That is the date we want. We want to go out there and perform in Vegas.”
Whether this fight takes place or not, it should not take away from the legendary career Nurmagomedov has created for himself in the octagon. Nurmagomedov is not a fighter who gets caught up in the glitz and glam of being a champion in the UFC. It appears that he wants to retire sometime in the next few years. He will not hold on past the expiration date that he set for himself. Many times, we see champions struggle with retiring sooner than later because they love their craft more than anything.
Another possible match looming out there is one with Justin Gaethje. Aside from the Ferguson bout, this match would probably be Nurmagomedov’s toughest match from a grappling standpoint. Gaethje comes from a high-level collegiate wrestling background, as he wrestled at the University of Northern Colorado. This fight is interesting because he would be the most experienced and decorated wrestler Nurmagomedov has ever faced.
A supreme disadvantage for Gaethje would be how he has become a high-level striker and nearly abandoned his grappling. If this fight were to happen, Gaethje must work on his wrestling and use that to compliment his explosive striking prowess. Stamina could also be an issue for Gaethje because he is known to go full throttle in the early minutes of the fight.
Nurmagomedov’s future is extremely interesting and he earned the right to call his shots and dictate his future. There has never been a fighter in the UFC who can distribute his weight on the ground as efficiently as Nurmagomedov can. He is well balanced and has been resilient throughout his career.
Legendary fighters like Silva and Emeliananko are still fighting but have suffered serious losses as they have aged in the sport. There is a strong possibility that Nurmagomedov will retire in his early 30s with a perfect record, a feat virtually no one at the highest level of Mixed Martial Arts has been able to achieve. The wrestling acumen that is displayed in every fight is what distances himself from everyone else in UFC history. Nurmagomedov has laid the groundwork for the next generation of Dagestani and Russian fighters to take over the UFC and combat sports.
Michael Daly is the Web Editor at WSOU Sports, and can be reached at wsousportswebeditor@gmail.com.
