Khabib Nurmagomedov — The Undefeated, Undisputed, most Humane Fighter Ever
— Part 1
24 Oct 2020, UFC 254, Abu Dhabi. Another event in the series of monthly title events held by UFC(Ultimate Fighting Championship — the largest MMA promotion across the world). There was something special about this one, at least for me, this is the event where Khabib Nurmagomedov would be defending his Lightweight Champion Title against Justin Gaethje, Khabib would be entering the octagon after a year and having a clear win streak of 28–0, each time he enters the cage it’s with greater pressure, set of expectations and risk to his legacy.
This is UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, the topmost Mixed Martial Arts promotion across the globe, it’s a dream for any MMA fighter to even be selected for UFC, given the stature, UFC only picks best of the very best from around the globe. Mixed Martial Arts is a full-contact combat fighting style where fighters indulge in striking, grappling, kickboxing, wrestling. These fighters train for decades and are skilled in multiple martial art techniques like Muay Thai, Sambo, Brazilian JiuJitsu, etc. The sport is brutal, the fighters enter the octagon only to be bruised and cut so badly that it takes months for them to recover from the injuries endured during those 25 minutes(5 rounds of 5 mins each).
Given the nature of the sport, the fighters are toughened up to be an Iron cast pillar by years of training and they don’t easily break by punches and kicks(just for anecdote the arms and legs of professional MMA fighters are classified as weapons and are bound by laws to not be used against common people). When the wrestlers enter the octagon, they start attacking their opponents by landing strikes(punches and kicks) and then dodge the opponent’s attacks by moving away.
UFC 254, only Khabib knew this is his last fight, he didn’t announce anything previously, even his coach Javier Mendes who had been with him for a decade didn’t know anything about his retirement plans. Justin Gaethje, who had the highest striking rate(% of successful punches/kicks landed) till now in the Lightweight category was a worthy opponent for one last fight. Khabib has a particular fighting style, where he uses his excellent grappling skills(grappling is where you try to take down your opponent to the ground by holding them around their waist and then pulling down as hard as possible),
tries to pin the opponent down to the grounds and then lands some heavy ground and pound(punches hitting the opponent hard when they are on the ground and you are on top in a position of advantage). Once the opponent is exhausted, he then tries to get them into submission usually by holding an armbar.
Armbar is the hyperextension of an arm around the shoulder or elbow by pressing the arm against the joint so hard that the opponent struggles in pain, a pain so severe that every second feels like an eternity. Under such armbar locks, which are almost impossible to get out of, the opponent either taps his hand signaling the Referee that he accepts his defeat and let him be freed from the lock now Or risks dislocating the arm leading to serious injuries and yes again a guaranteed defeat. Tapping the hand is less respectful as this means that you’ve willingly submitted to the opponent.
Something was interesting about this fight, Justin in all his pre-fight promotions had announced that no matter what he would never tap. This means that if under an armbar, he would definitely end up enduring serious arm dislocation and injuries. And voila, Khabib being the best grappler who he is, did put Justin under an armbar right in the second round. And as Khabib was pressing harder, he knew at any second now the arm will dislocate, he would win the fight but would have seriously injured Justin. At this point in the fight, any fighter in the history of MMA would go on further as this is a sure-shot victory, few more seconds the arm will be dislocated and you’ll be declared the winner. But not Khabib, he freed the opponent from the armbar and then later went for a triangle choke, where you wrap your legs around the opponent’s neck and press so hard so that opponent becomes subconscious and you are declared the winner. This would also mean a sure-shot victory but the opponent won’t be hurt and would wake up just fine in a few seconds or minutes.
Why did Khabib do so? Why did he risk his title, his victory, his legacy, his undefeated streak of 28–0, his last fight, why did he risk it all by freeing Gaethje of armbar? He did so, just because Justin’s parents were sitting in the audience watching the fight. Khabib knew that Justin will not tap and if he went ahead with the armbar he would seriously injure Justin right in-front of Justin’s parents, which he did not want to do and so he freed the armbar, risking his last fight, his legacy. This is Khabib, the most humane MMA fighter.
Also, why am I enthusiastic about MMA promotions like UFC and not professional BodyBuilding events like Mr. Olympia? UFC is natural, drug and steroid free whereas BodyBuilding as a sport heavily banks on steroid usage.
-Merci
