Khabib
Nurmagomedov’s toughest fight wasn’t entirely because of the
opponent he faced.
Nurmagomedov recently revealed that the most challenging bout of
his career was against Justin
Gaethje in 2020. The Russian successfully defended his
lightweight title by putting Gaethje to sleep with a triangle choke
in the second round. While Nurmagomedov says he has never been
pushed to his limits in a fight, he admits Gaethje came close.
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Khabib explains why Justin Gaethje presented the toughest
challenge of his undefeated career
The fight was the toughest for Nurmagomedov due to several factors
leading up to it. Most importantly, “The Eagle” lost his father,
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, to Covid-19 before the bout. He claims it
was difficult to stay composed after losing the person he was
fighting for in the first place.
The training camp was also hard, as Nurmagomedov battled several
injuries. However, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer managed to stay
mentally sharp throughout.
“In fights, no, you’ve never seen my limit in fights. Gaethje came
closest to it. First and foremost, it was because I had lost my
father,” Nurmagomedov told Lex Fridman. “It was hard to pull myself
together. Everything piled up at once; my father was gone. Training
without my father, without the person I was doing this for, the
person I wanted to become champion for, to prove to him that I
could become the best. Physically, I was not in the best shape; I
had injury after injury after injury. But, mentally speaking, I
stayed completely sharp.”
Nurmagomedov (29-0) has also previously acknowledged Gaethje as the
hardest hitter he has ever faced. The Dagestani legend had promised
his mother to never fight without his father in his corner. UFC CEO
Dana
White tried to convince him otherwise but couldn’t entice
Nurmagomedov to return to the Octagon.