Khabib Nurmagomedov to be Inducted into UFC Hall of Fame

The Eagle has landed in the UFC Hall of Fame 🦅

Congratulations @TeamKhabib on becoming the first inductee to the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022 🏆

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It didn’t take long for Khabib Nurmagomedov to dominate mixed martial arts’ lightweight division and that dominance led immortality.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Saturday that Nurmagomedov, one of the sport’s all-time greats, will be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame in its “Modern Wing” this summer.

“Khabib is one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in professional sports,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement. “No one dominated their opponents the way Khabib did, and to retire undefeated, as lightweight champion and the No.1 pound-for-pound athlete in the world is an incredible accomplishment. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

Nurmagomedov (29-0) retired as the unbeaten UFC lightweight champion, hands down the greatest to ever compete in the division, a living legend who barely lost a round throughout his illustrious career. Nurmagomedov dominated every man he faced, and he locked horns with some of the best of his generation. Wins over the likes of Michael Johnson, Al Iaquinta and Rafael dos Anjos preceded a trio of submissions over Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje.

Nurmagomedov will join other elites in the Modern Wing, with Forrest Griffin (2013), B.J. Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017), Ronda Rousey (2018), Michael Bisping (2019), Rashad Evans (2019) and Georges St. Pierre (2020) already enshrined. The “Modern Era” category includes athletes who turned pro on or after Nov. 17, 2000 (when the first UFC event under the unified rules of MMA was held), are a minimum age of 35 or who have been retired for one year or more.

Nurmagomedov enters the UFC Hall of Fame with an impressive resume that includes:
• 4 title fight wins – Tied for most in UFC lightweight division history
• 12 lightweight division wins – Tied for longest winning streak in UFC lightweight division history
• 13 consecutive wins – Tied for 3rd longest winning streak in UFC history (2012-20)
• 21 takedowns – Most takedowns in a single UFC bout (vs. Abel Trujillo – UFC 160)
• 59 takedowns – Second-most in UFC lightweight division history
• 54.6% – Third highest control time percentage in lightweight UFC history
• 1:29:08 – Third-most control time in lightweight UFC history
• 1:04:28 – Third-most top position time in lightweight UFC history
• 88 significant ground strikes – Fourth-most landed in a single UFC bout (vs. Michael Johnson – UFC 205)

“The Eagle” stepped away from combat in October 2020 after besting Gaethje due to the passing of his father and head coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov and vowed to never fight again without his father. At 33 years of age, there’s no telling what else Nurmagomedov would have achieved inside the Octagon had he not retired, but the Dagestan native did more than enough to be enshrined into the UFC’s Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony is scheduled to take place during UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas from June 27 through July 3.