Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Lightweights

1. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Another easy choice, as Nurmagomedov is considered a candidate for the greatest fighter of all time at any weight, and even has an edge over the rest of the top divisional picks in this series thus far: He retired undefeated at 29-0. No one ever officially beat him. Granted, most feel he deserved to suffer a loss against Gleison Tibau, but aside from that, no other fight was even close. On his way to the crown, he decimated Thiago Tavares in under two minutes, won an easy decision over Rafael dos Anjos, submitted Michael Johnson, and gave Edson Barboza a hellacious beating for 25 minutes prior to toying with and dominating Al Iaquinta for the world championship after a series of opponent changes. What Nurmagomedov did as champion was even more impressive, garnering three one-sided finishes against top pound-for-pound talents in Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. All were meant to be serious threats, with McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov in particular being perhaps the biggest MMA fight of all time, and Nurmagomedov smashed through all of them. As I've mentioned in a previous entry, we sadly never got to witness Nurmagomedov face a prime Tony Ferguson, as their fight was booked and then canceled an insane five times, as if the gods themselves were against it.

Nurmagomedov is likely the greatest grappler MMA has seen yet. Not only does he have amazing wrestling from both a shot and inside the clinch to gain the initial takedown, but he has a suite of other skills that is the envy of even world-class grapplers. First, he can endlessly chain-wrestle. Defending against one, two or even three attempts isn't enough, as Nurmagomedov just keeps cycling from one position to another and eventually finds success, as Poirier discovered. Once on top, his control is second to none, as even heavyweights find him suffocating in practices, he has crushingly heavy hips, and he is a master of technique, especially his phenomenal wrist control and the famous Dagestani leg trap. Nurmagomedov's ground-and-pound is vicious and unrelenting, and his submissions also among the very best, with him being able to attack any part of the body. Doing all this requires tremendous energy, but luckily, despite how much weight he cut to make 155, making him one of the largest lightweights ever, Nurmagomedov still had outstanding cardio, being able to administer beatings for all of five rounds. Of course, Nurmagomedov wasn't satisfied with mere grappling dominance, and his striking steadily improved over his time in MMA. Most remember his sterling overhand right that knocked down Conor McGregor, but personally, I will remember how he was fighting on even terms in the striking against Justin Gaethje of all people, including his great use of the front kick to the body to disrupt his rhythm and hurt him.

Nurmagomedov never cared for the money or glamour; only achieving greatness and the highest level of martial arts skill, so he retired on top at only 32 years of age, and contrary to predictions, seems perfectly happy in his role as a fight promoter and trainer, the latter a pursuit at which he is already recognized as one of the best.