The Legacy of Khabib Nurmagomedov
October 28, 2020 4:09 AM Subscribe
Pious Dagestani-Russian mixed martial arts champion Khabib Nurmagomedov defended his 155-pound title this past Saturday, and promptly retired. The capstone on his career was another textbook grappling "smesh": a buttery-smooth wrestling takedown which led to his late father's favorite submission trap: a triangle choke that put the heavy-hitting Justin Gaethje to sleep. Journalist Karim Zidan writes eloquently about the popular Muslim athlete's mixed legacy.
After the fight, the papakha-capped fighter announced his retirement due to the loss of his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov:
The fight went according to Khabib's strategy "to pressure him, to force him to strike and make mistakes and wear him out in the first round, and then to attack him in the second round." Gaethje had success in the early going with a strategy of defensive ringcraft, a low stance to prevent and shuck takedowns, and—as always—creating collisions with his powerful counter-punching and leg kicks. Gaethje's strikes were landing and accumulating damage, but his footwork, stamina, and jiu-jitsu showed holes when Khabib was able to secure a takedown late in the first, advancing almost immediately to mount and nearly finishing the fight with an armbar in the last seconds before the bell.
In the second stanza the champion set up a clever takedown by using his jab to draw a counter leg kick. (See Luke Thomas's slow-motion analysis of the takedown-to-backpack transition.) This allowed Хӏабиб to threaten a machine-gun burst of submissions, forcing the American to repeatedly choose between bad and worse. Nurmagomedov went from Gaethje's back to top mount, and from arm triangle choke to his mounted double threat, switching between the triangle and the arm break until he cinched the triangle and strangled his opponent unconscious for the win. AKA training partner Daniel Cormier—the retired heavyweight and light heavyweight champion—reported that Khabib picked the choke-out finish rather than the arm break specifically to spare his opponent from being injured in front of his family. The ever-insightful Jack Slack has further analysis in his Fights Gone By podcast.
Immediately following his victory, Khabib went to the center of the octagon and wept. His now-former opponent comforted him with an embrace immediately after regaining consciousness.
In his 29-0 professional career the Avar was never cut, knocked down, or wobbled. He holds the record for most completed takedowns in a single UFC fight, from his one-sided thrashing of Abel Trujillo. He soundly defeated the dangerous Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza, Rafael dos Anjos, and others — but leaves the story of his long-awaited match-up against unorthodox striker and jiu-jitsu specialist Tony Ferguson untold. Many are glad, since after five scheduled showdowns were canceled with escalating severity, many consider a fight between the two to be dangerously cursed.
After the fight, the papakha-capped fighter announced his retirement due to the loss of his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov:
It was my last fight. Ain't no way I'm gonna come here without my father. It was my first time after what happened with my father. When UFC called me about Justin [Gaethje] I talked with my mother [for] three days. She [didn't] want me to fight without [my] father but I promise her it's gonna be my last fight, and if I give my word I have to follow it.
[In Russian] If you still have your parents, spend more time with them. I've lost one, and only have one left, which is my mother. I would like to spend more time with her now.The elder Nurmagomedov died this summer of complications from COVID-19 in Moscow. He was widely regarded as an innovative coach, and the mastermind behind Khabib's method of suffocating pressure, systematic takedowns, and inescapable rides and mat returns — affectionately called the "father plan".
The fight went according to Khabib's strategy "to pressure him, to force him to strike and make mistakes and wear him out in the first round, and then to attack him in the second round." Gaethje had success in the early going with a strategy of defensive ringcraft, a low stance to prevent and shuck takedowns, and—as always—creating collisions with his powerful counter-punching and leg kicks. Gaethje's strikes were landing and accumulating damage, but his footwork, stamina, and jiu-jitsu showed holes when Khabib was able to secure a takedown late in the first, advancing almost immediately to mount and nearly finishing the fight with an armbar in the last seconds before the bell.
In the second stanza the champion set up a clever takedown by using his jab to draw a counter leg kick. (See Luke Thomas's slow-motion analysis of the takedown-to-backpack transition.) This allowed Хӏабиб to threaten a machine-gun burst of submissions, forcing the American to repeatedly choose between bad and worse. Nurmagomedov went from Gaethje's back to top mount, and from arm triangle choke to his mounted double threat, switching between the triangle and the arm break until he cinched the triangle and strangled his opponent unconscious for the win. AKA training partner Daniel Cormier—the retired heavyweight and light heavyweight champion—reported that Khabib picked the choke-out finish rather than the arm break specifically to spare his opponent from being injured in front of his family. The ever-insightful Jack Slack has further analysis in his Fights Gone By podcast.
Immediately following his victory, Khabib went to the center of the octagon and wept. His now-former opponent comforted him with an embrace immediately after regaining consciousness.
In his 29-0 professional career the Avar was never cut, knocked down, or wobbled. He holds the record for most completed takedowns in a single UFC fight, from his one-sided thrashing of Abel Trujillo. He soundly defeated the dangerous Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza, Rafael dos Anjos, and others — but leaves the story of his long-awaited match-up against unorthodox striker and jiu-jitsu specialist Tony Ferguson untold. Many are glad, since after five scheduled showdowns were canceled with escalating severity, many consider a fight between the two to be dangerously cursed.
I am not a UFC fan, but this guy sounds a lot more thoughtful than many of the characters who are the face of the sport to outsiders like me. And this is certainly an interesting echo of the more-toxic relationships that some other athletes have had with their father/trainers (in tennis, etc.). Thanks for sharing this, I wasn't aware of him before!
(MetaFilter: His now-former opponent comforted him with an embrace immediately after regaining consciousness.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:37 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
(MetaFilter: His now-former opponent comforted him with an embrace immediately after regaining consciousness.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:37 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
...and how to pronounce his name.
When he demonstrates to the Fox Sports hosts how to say his name, one of them replies, "You're makin' stuff up now, but it's OK" -- which reminds me a lot of this previous FPP.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:44 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
When he demonstrates to the Fox Sports hosts how to say his name, one of them replies, "You're makin' stuff up now, but it's OK" -- which reminds me a lot of this previous FPP.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:44 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
That man is Daniel Cormier, one of Khabib's close friends and training partners. He's definitely a joker and a ribber. Maybe watch Khabib single him out at the end of his post-fight interview (time stamp 5:19 in the "announce his retirement" link above) — I'm not sure it's charitable or accurate to say that DC specifically choosing to make "how to pronounce my teammate's foreign & objectively-difficult-to-American-fans name" the subject of a TV spot is an example of ill will.
As to Khabib's thoughtfulness, I agree, he definitely seems to have kept his head on straight as he achieved stardom & riches. But he's also the guy who flying-kicked Dillon Danis to spark a massive brawl after he beat Conor, and the Zidan article has a good run-down of his...less palatable views.
posted by daveliepmann at 7:57 AM on October 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
As to Khabib's thoughtfulness, I agree, he definitely seems to have kept his head on straight as he achieved stardom & riches. But he's also the guy who flying-kicked Dillon Danis to spark a massive brawl after he beat Conor, and the Zidan article has a good run-down of his...less palatable views.
posted by daveliepmann at 7:57 AM on October 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
ah that's so cool to learn how the cyrilic spelling of muhammad goes. (i'm still trying to learn russian on duolingo which famously doesn't have extensive grammar notes, so i'm still learning when the cyrilic g is pronounced like a h). and his name to me, here, is basically 'habib'. nothing too hard, even on the anglophone tongue, idk why that host had to be such a stereotype.
i don't follow this sport at all, so this is very interesting fpp, thank you!
posted by cendawanita at 7:59 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
i don't follow this sport at all, so this is very interesting fpp, thank you!
posted by cendawanita at 7:59 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
cendawanita, totally agreed — his name made soooo much more sense to me after a friend pointed out what the "Magomed" part meant.
posted by daveliepmann at 8:02 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by daveliepmann at 8:02 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I haven't watched MMA since breaking up with the ex with whom I watched a lot of MMA, but Khabib is someone I liked a lot. I appreciated his take on when people compare him and Muhammad Ali. I'm glad he got to leave more or less on his terms, though I'm sad to hear about the death of his father.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:57 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 8:57 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
There's a lot to appreciate about Khabib Nurmagomedov. The video of him wrestling a bear cub at nine years old, that time he shut down Stephen A. Smith on air, not to mention his amazing technique.
Not sure what to make of his connections to the Chechen warlord Khadyrov, which I assume daveliepmann is alluding to above. A common defense I've seen is that his family and friends are in Dagestan, on the border with Chechnya, and so he needs to be careful not to upset Khadyrov. But that's a really generous interpretation. I'm definitely conflicted about it.
posted by ishmael at 9:19 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Not sure what to make of his connections to the Chechen warlord Khadyrov, which I assume daveliepmann is alluding to above. A common defense I've seen is that his family and friends are in Dagestan, on the border with Chechnya, and so he needs to be careful not to upset Khadyrov. But that's a really generous interpretation. I'm definitely conflicted about it.
posted by ishmael at 9:19 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also, as a side note (please delete if too much of a derail), I do appreciate the effort MMA organizations and broadcasters expend to pronounce names correctly.
Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Oluwale Bamgbose, WeiLi Zhang (which they often pronounce surname first in the Chinese convention when introducing her: Zhang WeiLi), Khabib Nurmagomedov just to name a few... it's really impressive.
When paired with the casual racism of some of the fanbase, I get a bit of cognitive dissonance.
posted by ishmael at 9:31 AM on October 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Oluwale Bamgbose, WeiLi Zhang (which they often pronounce surname first in the Chinese convention when introducing her: Zhang WeiLi), Khabib Nurmagomedov just to name a few... it's really impressive.
When paired with the casual racism of some of the fanbase, I get a bit of cognitive dissonance.
posted by ishmael at 9:31 AM on October 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
I can find plenty to criticize about Khabib’s politics, but I don’t watch him for his political views. From my viewpoint as a long time martial artist and martial arts instructor, Khabib is one of the most impressive examples of a martial artist and combat athlete that I have ever seen. His technique and his work ethic are impeccable. I’m glad that he’s retiring now with all his brain cells intact and I hope that he doesn’t succumb to the temptation to keep making comebacks until his body slows down and he starts racking up head trauma as other champions have before him.
posted by tdismukes at 9:40 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tdismukes at 9:40 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Looking forward to digging into this later, but I have to say that the video of his last opponent crawling over immediately after regaining consciousness to hug Khabib is really touching. I love displays of sportsmanship and camaraderie like this, especially in sports that are essentially formal combat.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:05 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:05 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Khabib has been only getting better every fight. He beat Al in 5 rounds, Connor in 4, Dustin in 3 and Justin in 2. I dont think he has reached his peak yet.
posted by asra at 11:27 AM on October 28, 2020
posted by asra at 11:27 AM on October 28, 2020
I dont think he has reached his peak yet.
It's true, which is one reason so many are sad to see him retire. He probably beat Gaethje with a broken foot, and made it look easy. Truly a once-in-a-generation talent.
posted by ishmael at 11:42 AM on October 28, 2020
It's true, which is one reason so many are sad to see him retire. He probably beat Gaethje with a broken foot, and made it look easy. Truly a once-in-a-generation talent.
posted by ishmael at 11:42 AM on October 28, 2020
His retirement at this time also knocks him down a few notches when talking about pound-for-pound goats(yes yes it's a subjective discussion. Duly noted.)
Jon Jones, for all his flaws, ranks higher because of the number of title defenses. Kinda makes you imagine what could have been.
posted by ishmael at 11:47 AM on October 28, 2020
Jon Jones, for all his flaws, ranks higher because of the number of title defenses. Kinda makes you imagine what could have been.
posted by ishmael at 11:47 AM on October 28, 2020
I had to stop watching that video in the Guardian article of him wrestling the bear cub starting as a nine year old. It was disturbing on too many levels.
posted by jamjam at 12:58 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by jamjam at 12:58 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
I had to stop watching that video in the Guardian article of him wrestling the bear cub starting as a nine year old. It was disturbing on too many levels.
Does seem like it should've been the teaser for an upcoming Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov versus CPS fight.
Horrifying even.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:08 PM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Does seem like it should've been the teaser for an upcoming Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov versus CPS fight.
Horrifying even.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:08 PM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
>Jon Jones, for all his flaws...
Jones gets a mighty big asterisk in my book for failing multiple PED tests. But his twitter feed is fantastic.
posted by onehalfjunco at 1:35 PM on October 28, 2020
Jones gets a mighty big asterisk in my book for failing multiple PED tests. But his twitter feed is fantastic.
posted by onehalfjunco at 1:35 PM on October 28, 2020
You can be a thoroughly decent guy in some ways and in other ways support dictators and tell women to stay in the kitchen. It's kind of like how Joe Rogan shows great emotional intelligence in many of his interviews alongside a sometimes-broken moral compass.
I have a half-formed half-baked theory connecting being good at the use of force, believing that skill in the use of force should be an important leadership quality, support for authoritarianism, and opposition to feminism, but it hasn't gone further than to suggest that all those things seem to be connected more often than you'd expect by chance. I'm sure some better thinker has worked this all out in comprehensive detail.
posted by clawsoon at 2:37 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
I have a half-formed half-baked theory connecting being good at the use of force, believing that skill in the use of force should be an important leadership quality, support for authoritarianism, and opposition to feminism, but it hasn't gone further than to suggest that all those things seem to be connected more often than you'd expect by chance. I'm sure some better thinker has worked this all out in comprehensive detail.
posted by clawsoon at 2:37 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Your toolkit informs what you think is worth building, what you see as buildable. It is a really good point clawsoon!
posted by Meatbomb at 9:27 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Meatbomb at 9:27 PM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Someone with an eagle eye noticed that Khabib seems to have gotten his broken-three-weeks-ago toe painfully stuck in the fence as he tried to close his mounted triangle choke, which may have been the impetus behind switching briefly to the sit-back armbar. Which is completely bananas.
Folks are making clips of Justin's success during the first round, such as one instance where he C R A C K E D Khabib with an uppercut and left hook. This reminds me how ostensibly one-sided fights rarely are.
posted by daveliepmann at 1:26 AM on October 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Folks are making clips of Justin's success during the first round, such as one instance where he C R A C K E D Khabib with an uppercut and left hook. This reminds me how ostensibly one-sided fights rarely are.
posted by daveliepmann at 1:26 AM on October 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have a half-formed half-baked theory connecting being good at the use of force, believing that skill in the use of force should be an important leadership quality, support for authoritarianism, and opposition to feminism
I can see where you're coming from. But then again, I can think of a lot of people who love baseball who exhibit authoritarianist and misogynist tendencies. A lot of women fighters get recognition and compensation that a lot of other female athletes don't. And I personally know a lot of people who love MMA who definitely don't love performative macho bullshit. It's really a mixed bag.
For me, MMA is way to channel energy. It has rules, a stage with boundaries, two consenting adults, and a ref. More often than not, the violence is hermetically sealed within that cage. I have a lot of rage in me, and watching and practicing MMA gives a controlled outlet for that energy that I don't get anywhere else.
Don't get me wrong, there are shitheads. For every Luke Thomas and Scott Coker there's a Dana White and Colby Covington.
And I'm in complete agreement with you about Joe Rogan. JFC he just had Alex Jones on his show again to normalize him. There is no good reason to have Alex Jones on your show.
posted by ishmael at 9:17 AM on October 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
I can see where you're coming from. But then again, I can think of a lot of people who love baseball who exhibit authoritarianist and misogynist tendencies. A lot of women fighters get recognition and compensation that a lot of other female athletes don't. And I personally know a lot of people who love MMA who definitely don't love performative macho bullshit. It's really a mixed bag.
For me, MMA is way to channel energy. It has rules, a stage with boundaries, two consenting adults, and a ref. More often than not, the violence is hermetically sealed within that cage. I have a lot of rage in me, and watching and practicing MMA gives a controlled outlet for that energy that I don't get anywhere else.
Don't get me wrong, there are shitheads. For every Luke Thomas and Scott Coker there's a Dana White and Colby Covington.
And I'm in complete agreement with you about Joe Rogan. JFC he just had Alex Jones on his show again to normalize him. There is no good reason to have Alex Jones on your show.
posted by ishmael at 9:17 AM on October 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Joe has staked his brand on being the outsider, contrarian, gonna do it my way guy. His ego probably just could not bear having an authority figure tell him "you can't have Alex Jones on your show". Not a good look for him, and not good for discourse.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:22 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Meatbomb at 4:22 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by daveliepmann at 4:54 AM on October 28, 2020