Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (Russian: (Russian: Хабиб Абдулманапович Нурмагомедов) is a retired Russian lightweight MMA champion from Dagestan, a federal subject of Russia. He is well known for using Sambo techniques against his opponents, and ground-pounding them to submission. Because of these techniques, he successfully defeated big names such as Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and most recently Justin Gaethje. Outside of the UFC Octagon and K1 ring, he runs his (unfortunately late) father's MMA/Sambo gym in Makachkala, Dagestan, Russia, and has 3 children. In October 2020, The Guardian stated that Nurmagomedov is the second-most popular Muslim athlete in the world, behind only the Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah.