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Former UFC lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov is unanimously regarded as the most dominant athlete to ever rule a UFC division. He commanded lightweight 2018 all the way till UFC 254 in October 2020 when he decided to relinquish the title. By then, he had accrued 3 title defenses with back-to-back stoppage wins over Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.

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However, another Russian fighter lives on in the hearts of many as the GOAT- Fedor Emelianenko. Former UFC champion Jan Blachowicz spoke out in an interview and anointed ‘The Last Emperor’ as the greatest fighter, placing him above Jon Jones as well. However, even he couldn’t deny that perhaps Khabib Nurmagomedov had surpassed the entire pack to claim the title of GOAT.

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“If I had to choose between Fedor and Jon Jones, I’d chose Fedor. But in my opinion, Khabib is probably the best. As of today, I would call Khabib the greatest.”

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According to him, Nurmagomedov has beat out names such as Fedor Emelianenko and Jon Jones. This is no small feat considering the lengthy reign of dominance that both men enjoyed as champions. Despite their stellar resumes, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dominance in a short span of time has convinced many of his GOAT status.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov: Will he ever return to fighting?

Apart from the fact that fans love to debate his place in history, many fans also want to see Khabib Nurmagomedov launch a comeback. He retired on top at 29-0 and the MMA community wants to see him push the envelop and make it 30-0.

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In the months following his retirement, UFC President Dana White made several attempts to cajole Nurmagomedov to make a comeback. However, ‘The Eagle’ ended up staying true to his word and has never even flirted with the idea of coming back.

However, there are a plethora of fun fights to make if he does decide to wrap up the four-once gloves once more. At the moment though, Khabib Nurmagomedov appears to be comfortable in his role as a coach and mentor. He continues to train as it is his passion but doesn’t seem interested to engage in active competition again.

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Darryl Pinto

2,138 Articles

Darryl Pinto is a senior MMA writer and editor at EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Sport Business Management degree out of Humber College, Canada and has completed nearly 3 years with the organization. He has also served as the Head of Content for the MLB department.

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