Khabib Nurmagomedov retired at the age of 32 after three successful defenses of his UFC lightweight title, leaving the sport with a perfect professional record of 29-0.
Current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has a chance to break the title defense record at UFC 311; However, there is another contender that many believe will be the one to surpass The Eagle's 29-0 mark.
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The only fighter who can surpass Khabib Nurmagomedov's record
Veteran MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has seen his fair share of UFC champions come and go; most notably, Khabib Nurmagomedov was helped by the industry on his way to UFC lightweight gold and glory.
However, Abdelaziz believes that if there is anyone who has the skills (and the time left in the sport) to compete with and even surpass Khabib, it is his younger cousin Umar Nurmagomedov.
“I have no doubt that Umar will be a champion at 135 pounds, and I believe Umar will remain a champion for a long time,” he explained to MMA Junkie.
“I think Umar is the only man who can really challenge Khabib's record. He can retire undefeated, 29-0, 30-0. Of course he has a difficult opponent, but I believe Umar is better everywhere.
“Umar is one of the best fighters I've ever seen… He's so good everywhere, and he's so humble and so kind.”
Umar Nurmagomedov is currently 18-0 as a professional and, at just 29 years old, has more than enough time to reach that perfect 30 – especially if he claims the bantamweight championship on January 18.
Skills and timeline aside, Abdelaziz argued that the young Nurmagomedov could surpass his elder statesman simply because of his desire to compete as often as possible.
“He was offered Merab at Madison Square Garden and he said yes. In December he was offered Merab and he said yes. He was offered Song Yadong on December 14, he said yes. He was offered Song Yadong in January and he said yes.
“Then the UFC came and said, 'Merab, January 18,' and he said yes. He said yes to everyone. He was willing to fight ranked, not ranked – he just wanted to fight.
Nurmagomedov will face Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event of UFC 311, and while Abdelaziz expects a tough challenge, he only sees that fight going one way.
“Merab is tough. He's a really tough guy. It's a very tough fight. He's on a 10-fight winning streak for a reason, but I believe Umar will beat him anywhere.
Former champion also believes Umar will beat Merab 'anywhere' at UFC 311
That last line from Abdelaziz, that Umar Merab can beat “anywhere,” is quite poignant, as he's not the first to suggest that if Dvalishvili wants to retain his title, he'll have to achieve the near-impossible at UFC 311.
Earlier this week, former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold suggested the exact same thing: that young Nurmagomedov would beat Dvalishvili “anywhere” on January 18.
“Umar is the next generation where he is so fluid and so creative,” praised Rockhold via the JAXXON Podcast, before noting that “this is [still] a tough match,” as Dvalishvili is “a tough, hard-nosed guy” to figure out.
“I think Umar can win there. Umar can beat him absolutely anywhere… He can beat him, and then Merab can come in; Umar can oppose him and go after him. I'm telling you, he's really better than him everywhere.
“He's going to beat Merab, and then Merab gets frustrated, so he shoots in, Umar's going to counter him, he's probably going to get into a dominant position and then they go back up. [to the feet] – I don't see that fight going any other way.”
UFC 311: Makhachev vs Tsarukyan, powered by Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov, airs live from LA on Saturday, January 18.
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