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Khabib Nurmagomedov: Five best in-class fighters at UFC 205 – No. 3, Lightweight
In this special five-part series to celebrate the awesomeness of UFC 205, we will look at five fighters on the marquee who are the very best in their weight class — and possibly the sport — at what they do. Five out of five-star fighters, if you will. We will examine the case for their superiority, look at what makes them so good at what they do, and give an idea of what you can expect once the cage door slams shut.
The legend goes that Khabib Nurmagomedov grew up wrestling wild bears in the mountains of his native land of Dagestan, overseen by his martial arts mentor, his father. Except, it isn’t just a legend. It is real, and we have footage of it. He had a pet bear — still does, apparently — and wrestled the bear throughout his childhood, building the wrestling skills, stamina and legendary toughness for which his countrymen are famous in the wrestling world. He also went on to become a two-time Combat Sambo world champion before transitioning to professional mixed martial arts (MMA). This weekend (Sat., Nov. 12, 2016), Nurmagomedov will put all those combat sports skills to the ultimate test when he collides with fellow top-ranked Lightweight contender, Michael Johnson (No. 6), at UFC 205 inside Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
Fighter: Khabib Nurmagomedov Division: Lightweight Skill: Wrestling
Once you have locked up with a literal bear, there isn’t much another man can do to frighten you, which is perhaps what drives Nurmagomedov’s undeniable confidence in the cage. Or, perhaps it’s the medals hanging on his wall from his career in combat sambo and wrestling. Or, perhaps it’s his pristine (23-0) record in MMA competition. No matter what the answer, Nurmagomedov gives off the impression of being absolutely fearless. This is a man who walked out in Brazil –where crowds scream death chants — wearing a T-shirt that said, “If Sambo was easy, it would be called Jiu Jitsu”, then proceeded to knockout his opponent in the first round.
A video posted by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on Oct 16, 2016 at 10:59pm PDT
When “Nurmy” gets hold of an opponent, bad things tend to happen very quickly. He doesn’t have the most explosive shot in the world, but his chain wrestling is absolutely unreal. His wrestling and overall grappling vocabulary is both broad and deep. It is broad in the sense that his offensive flowchart of options has as many boxes as a NASA checklist. It is deep because the level of detail and nuance allows him to apply it appropriately against the highest level of competition. Rafael dos Anjos met Khabib in the middle of his resurgent run, right after beating Donald Cerrone the first time, and Nurmagomedov absolutely dominated that fight, smothering the future 155-pound champion and putting him on his back over and over for an easy unanimous decision win.
The only fighter he has been unable to take down was the oversized wrestling defense machine Gleison Tibau, and he won that fight, narrowly, by pinning Tibau’s leg between his own and edging out the clinch battle. Since then, his striking has sharpened considerably. He is a bundle of manic energy on the feet, constantly micro-feinting with his head and his hands. The movement freezes opponents and informs them that Nurmagomedov’s rhythm is going to be too fast for them, and he proceeds to demonstrate by lunging in with his idiosyncratic vocabulary of Russian sambo uppercuts, hooks and overhands. He also likes to leap in with a flying knee, getting opponents to stand upright, then wing punches into a takedown attempt. His time at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) has seen him add more straight punches to his preferred toolkit, but he still includes a lot of circular punches that make sense. The goal of Nurmagomedov’s striking — if it doesn’t knockout his opponent — is to cover his takedown and clinch entries. He does have real power, however, and as wild as it looks, that forces his opponents to respect his striking in the cage.
A video posted by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on Oct 17, 2016 at 12:42am PDT
Nurmagomedov starts his fights by circling in open space, allowing the fight to come to him. He doesn’t jab much, but his lead hand his is active nonetheless, varying between his lead uppercut and lead hook. He has a good sense of timing and, while he holds his head very upright, is defensively very aware. He holds his hands high, particularly his rear hand, which stays by his ear, open toward an opponent as if he is waving at him. When moving backward, he doesn’t shell up so much as actively parry and block while moving his feet constantly. He will back up into the cage occasionally, but never stays there, circling out immediately, often throwing his lead hook to cover his retreat. There are three ways to defend- moving your hands, moving your feet, and moving your head — and Nurmagomedov uses all three very well. He is excellent at dipping beneath his opponents hooks on the defense, and will duck his head pre-emptively after his own combinations as well, avoiding return fire. If his foe continues to pressure, Nurmagomedov can turn that dip into a reactive takedown instead, driving through his opponent’s hips or simply grabbing a clinch, where he nearly always has a huge control advantage.
His defensive soundness blends seamlessly into and creates opportunities for him offensively. The various parts of Nurmagomedov’s game build on each other like Lego blocks, each part fitting into the next. His lead hook is paired with a rear uppercut, which forces his opponent to stand upright. That can be exploited by another hook and a rear straight in combination, or by ducking into a double-leg shot. His skill at circling out gives him openings where an opponent is against the cage, and Nurmagomedov will throw a combination or even a high kick as they turn to face him.
He is judicious with his takedown attempts, but they almost always count for something. He is tenacious, getting the takedown on half his attempts, but when he doesn’t, he still racks up control time, leaning against his opponents and forcing them to carry his weight on the cage. If an opponent is being especially stubborn, the Dagestani will break off to throw a combination of tight inside hooks. Nurmagomedov is unusual both in the odd intersection of his skills and the non-stop application of them. His background in sambo — the Russian equivalent of Judo — means that observers get to watch Nurmagomedov switch from attacking the legs to executing a head and arm throw.
It’s when he ties up an opponent that Nurmagomedov really shines. Establishing control in the clinch is always about off-balancing an opponent, and Nurmagomedov does this constantly and in a bewildering number of ways. One of his favorite ways is to lift. If he shoots for the legs, and if the double is there, he likes to pick up opponents bodily, run across the cage and slam them down into a control position. If they stop that initial assault, he is in on them with underhooks, and can also pick an opponent straight up from there, as he did to dos Anjos. Or he likes to go behind with the body lock, forcing them to push themselves against the cage to keep their backs from being taken. This is one of his favorite control positions. He can lift from here, too, tossing them to the canvas as he did to Abel Trujillo over and over. He also likes to pull and push, taking opponents one way, then another. What sets Nurmagomedov apart is how he is adept at taking his foes in multiple directions. He can lean them forward, pitching them onto their hands and shoulders, forcing them to carry his weight. Or he will switch to taking them backward, forcing them to re-adjust or be sat on their butt. He will hook a leg from here, turning it into a wrestler’s ride. Or, he will let them stand nearly upright, only to step in with a trip to toss them head over heels.
Once he breaks down their defensive wrestling, Nurmagomedov shows another unique blend of skills, blending skilled positional and submission grappling with his wrestling control. He doesn’t just hang out in guard, landing token strikes. He is always looking to posture up and pass. Even more than his striking, this aspect of his game works together in interlocking pieces. His striking opens up passing opportunities by forcing or luring opponents to move beneath him. When they do, Nurmagomedov moves with them, hooking a leg or taking the back in scrambles. His ground-and-pound is vicious, and the further advanced his control position is, the more he opens up, from side control to knee-on-belly to mount to taking the back. He has an answer for every position he finds himself in, even threatening with a triangle/armbar combination when Trujillo managed to get top position.
Who controls opponents most on the mats at #UFC205?
Johnson is an interesting match up this weekend. His only clear loss in recent history was an exciting, close, but uncontroversial fight with Nate Diaz. Other than that, no one has beaten him decisively since 2013. He moves really well, has exceptional speed, and is an accomplished outside striker, able to throw in high volume, either leading or on the counter. The counter is where he is likely to have the most success against Nurmagomedov, taking advantage of his wild entries and upright posture as he did against Dustin Poirier.
However, if you dig a bit further into his fight history such as the bout against Reza Madadi, it becomes rapidly apparent why Nurmagomedov is favored in this match up. Once Madadi had the single leg — which was there for him all night — he more or less had his way with Johnson, and the Blackzilians-trained fighter didn’t have enough answers in the grappling phase of the bout to get back to his feet. Madadi doesn’t hold a candle to Nurmagomedov as a wrestler. The Dagestani is without question the best at what he does at Lightweight in UFC and one of the best wrestler-grapplers in the sport. We will likely see a showcase of his single-leg attacks. The single-leg in a Southpaw match up is much closer than in a traditional match up, and, once he has the leg, Johnson is at a serious disadvantage. Nurmagomedov can run the pipe to the outside, off-balance him in the other direction, switch to a double, get a treetop takedown, switch to a single on the other side, go behind for a waist lock — from which we covered how stifling he is and a few of his chains of takedowns — or even work a trip on the other leg, something Madadi did quite handily to Johnson. Johnson is not helpless, but Nurmagomedov excels at working first positional control, then intelligent ground-and-pound to open up opportunities for the finish.
Based on the narrow window Johnson has to be successful, this fight looks like a probable Nurmagomedov showcase on the FOX Sports 1 “Prelims” undercard. It may not appeal to the “Just Bleed” fan, but if you enjoy grappling or athletic excellence in the least, you cannot miss this one. Nurmagomedov — the very best 155-pound wrestler in MMA — can secure the next division title shot with his 24th straight win. But, that’s not the only reason you should tune in. I can’t really think of words to caption the art below except to say: Khabib? He’s the real deal.
A photo posted by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on Aug 2, 2016 at 2:58pm PDT
In this special five-part series to celebrate the awesomeness of UFC 205, we will look at five fighters on the marquee who are the very best in their weight class — and possibly the sport — at what they do. Five out of five-star fighters, if you will. We will examine the case for their superiority, look at what makes them so good at what they do, and give an idea of what you can expect once the cage door slams shut.
The legend goes that Khabib Nurmagomedov grew up wrestling wild bears in the mountains of his native land of Dagestan, overseen by his martial arts mentor, his father. Except, it isn’t just a legend. It is real, and we have footage of it. He had a pet bear — still does, apparently — and wrestled the bear throughout his childhood, building the wrestling skills, stamina and legendary toughness for which his countrymen are famous in the wrestling world. He also went on to become a two-time Combat Sambo world champion before transitioning to professional mixed martial arts (MMA). This weekend (Sat., Nov. 12, 2016), Nurmagomedov will put all those combat sports skills to the ultimate test when he collides with fellow top-ranked Lightweight contender, Michael Johnson (No. 6), at UFC 205 inside Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
Fighter: Khabib Nurmagomedov Division: Lightweight Skill: Wrestling
Once you have locked up with a literal bear, there isn’t much another man can do to frighten you, which is perhaps what drives Nurmagomedov’s undeniable confidence in the cage. Or, perhaps it’s the medals hanging on his wall from his career in combat sambo and wrestling. Or, perhaps it’s his pristine (23-0) record in MMA competition. No matter what the answer, Nurmagomedov gives off the impression of being absolutely fearless. This is a man who walked out in Brazil –where crowds scream death chants — wearing a T-shirt that said, “If Sambo was easy, it would be called Jiu Jitsu”, then proceeded to knockout his opponent in the first round.
A video posted by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on
When “Nurmy” gets hold of an opponent, bad things tend to happen very quickly. He doesn’t have the most explosive shot in the world, but his chain wrestling is absolutely unreal. His wrestling and overall grappling vocabulary is both broad and deep. It is broad in the sense that his offensive flowchart of options has as many boxes as a NASA checklist. It is deep because the level of detail and nuance allows him to apply it appropriately against the highest level of competition. Rafael dos Anjos met Khabib in the middle of his resurgent run, right after beating Donald Cerrone the first time, and Nurmagomedov absolutely dominated that fight, smothering the future 155-pound champion and putting him on his back over and over for an easy unanimous decision win.
The only fighter he has been unable to take down was the oversized wrestling defense machine Gleison Tibau, and he won that fight, narrowly, by pinning Tibau’s leg between his own and edging out the clinch battle. Since then, his striking has sharpened considerably. He is a bundle of manic energy on the feet, constantly micro-feinting with his head and his hands. The movement freezes opponents and informs them that Nurmagomedov’s rhythm is going to be too fast for them, and he proceeds to demonstrate by lunging in with his idiosyncratic vocabulary of Russian sambo uppercuts, hooks and overhands. He also likes to leap in with a flying knee, getting opponents to stand upright, then wing punches into a takedown attempt. His time at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) has seen him add more straight punches to his preferred toolkit, but he still includes a lot of circular punches that make sense. The goal of Nurmagomedov’s striking — if it doesn’t knockout his opponent — is to cover his takedown and clinch entries. He does have real power, however, and as wild as it looks, that forces his opponents to respect his striking in the cage.
A video posted by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on
Nurmagomedov starts his fights by circling in open space, allowing the fight to come to him. He doesn’t jab much, but his lead hand his is active nonetheless, varying between his lead uppercut and lead hook. He has a good sense of timing and, while he holds his head very upright, is defensively very aware. He holds his hands high, particularly his rear hand, which stays by his ear, open toward an opponent as if he is waving at him. When moving backward, he doesn’t shell up so much as actively parry and block while moving his feet constantly. He will back up into the cage occasionally, but never stays there, circling out immediately, often throwing his lead hook to cover his retreat. There are three ways to defend- moving your hands, moving your feet, and moving your head — and Nurmagomedov uses all three very well. He is excellent at dipping beneath his opponents hooks on the defense, and will duck his head pre-emptively after his own combinations as well, avoiding return fire. If his foe continues to pressure, Nurmagomedov can turn that dip into a reactive takedown instead, driving through his opponent’s hips or simply grabbing a clinch, where he nearly always has a huge control advantage.
His defensive soundness blends seamlessly into and creates opportunities for him offensively. The various parts of Nurmagomedov’s game build on each other like Lego blocks, each part fitting into the next. His lead hook is paired with a rear uppercut, which forces his opponent to stand upright. That can be exploited by another hook and a rear straight in combination, or by ducking into a double-leg shot. His skill at circling out gives him openings where an opponent is against the cage, and Nurmagomedov will throw a combination or even a high kick as they turn to face him.
He is judicious with his takedown attempts, but they almost always count for something. He is tenacious, getting the takedown on half his attempts, but when he doesn’t, he still racks up control time, leaning against his opponents and forcing them to carry his weight on the cage. If an opponent is being especially stubborn, the Dagestani will break off to throw a combination of tight inside hooks. Nurmagomedov is unusual both in the odd intersection of his skills and the non-stop application of them. His background in sambo — the Russian equivalent of Judo — means that observers get to watch Nurmagomedov switch from attacking the legs to executing a head and arm throw.
It’s when he ties up an opponent that Nurmagomedov really shines. Establishing control in the clinch is always about off-balancing an opponent, and Nurmagomedov does this constantly and in a bewildering number of ways. One of his favorite ways is to lift. If he shoots for the legs, and if the double is there, he likes to pick up opponents bodily, run across the cage and slam them down into a control position. If they stop that initial assault, he is in on them with underhooks, and can also pick an opponent straight up from there, as he did to dos Anjos. Or he likes to go behind with the body lock, forcing them to push themselves against the cage to keep their backs from being taken. This is one of his favorite control positions. He can lift from here, too, tossing them to the canvas as he did to Abel Trujillo over and over. He also likes to pull and push, taking opponents one way, then another. What sets Nurmagomedov apart is how he is adept at taking his foes in multiple directions. He can lean them forward, pitching them onto their hands and shoulders, forcing them to carry his weight. Or he will switch to taking them backward, forcing them to re-adjust or be sat on their butt. He will hook a leg from here, turning it into a wrestler’s ride. Or, he will let them stand nearly upright, only to step in with a trip to toss them head over heels.
Once he breaks down their defensive wrestling, Nurmagomedov shows another unique blend of skills, blending skilled positional and submission grappling with his wrestling control. He doesn’t just hang out in guard, landing token strikes. He is always looking to posture up and pass. Even more than his striking, this aspect of his game works together in interlocking pieces. His striking opens up passing opportunities by forcing or luring opponents to move beneath him. When they do, Nurmagomedov moves with them, hooking a leg or taking the back in scrambles. His ground-and-pound is vicious, and the further advanced his control position is, the more he opens up, from side control to knee-on-belly to mount to taking the back. He has an answer for every position he finds himself in, even threatening with a triangle/armbar combination when Trujillo managed to get top position.
Who controls opponents most on the mats at #UFC205?
Johnson is an interesting match up this weekend. His only clear loss in recent history was an exciting, close, but uncontroversial fight with Nate Diaz. Other than that, no one has beaten him decisively since 2013. He moves really well, has exceptional speed, and is an accomplished outside striker, able to throw in high volume, either leading or on the counter. The counter is where he is likely to have the most success against Nurmagomedov, taking advantage of his wild entries and upright posture as he did against Dustin Poirier.
However, if you dig a bit further into his fight history such as the bout against Reza Madadi, it becomes rapidly apparent why Nurmagomedov is favored in this match up. Once Madadi had the single leg — which was there for him all night — he more or less had his way with Johnson, and the Blackzilians-trained fighter didn’t have enough answers in the grappling phase of the bout to get back to his feet. Madadi doesn’t hold a candle to Nurmagomedov as a wrestler. The Dagestani is without question the best at what he does at Lightweight in UFC and one of the best wrestler-grapplers in the sport. We will likely see a showcase of his single-leg attacks. The single-leg in a Southpaw match up is much closer than in a traditional match up, and, once he has the leg, Johnson is at a serious disadvantage. Nurmagomedov can run the pipe to the outside, off-balance him in the other direction, switch to a double, get a treetop takedown, switch to a single on the other side, go behind for a waist lock — from which we covered how stifling he is and a few of his chains of takedowns — or even work a trip on the other leg, something Madadi did quite handily to Johnson. Johnson is not helpless, but Nurmagomedov excels at working first positional control, then intelligent ground-and-pound to open up opportunities for the finish.
Based on the narrow window Johnson has to be successful, this fight looks like a probable Nurmagomedov showcase on the FOX Sports 1 “Prelims” undercard. It may not appeal to the “Just Bleed” fan, but if you enjoy grappling or athletic excellence in the least, you cannot miss this one. Nurmagomedov — the very best 155-pound wrestler in MMA — can secure the next division title shot with his 24th straight win. But, that’s not the only reason you should tune in. I can’t really think of words to caption the art below except to say: Khabib? He’s the real deal.
