Dagestan fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He is the first inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
UFC announced during the UFC 272 broadcast that Nurmagomedov is the first inductee of the 2022 UFC Hall of Fame Class.
The induction ceremony is expected to take place in the summer during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, which takes place from June 26-July 2. An exact date is still to be announced.
“Khabib is one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in professional sports,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement.
“No one dominated their opponents the way Khabib did, and to retire undefeated, as lightweight champion and the No.1 pound-for-pound athlete in the world is an incredible accomplishment. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”
Nurmagomedov retired in October of 2020 after defeating Justin Gaethje.
He then vacated the title and retired as the undisputed and undefeated UFC lightweight champion. At the time of his retirement, he was the number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.
The Dagestan-born fighter defended his belt three times and earned 13 UFC victories.
He defeated Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Gaethje, and Al Iaquinta in title fights.
After the death of his father, he promised his mother that he wouldn’t be fighting again and announced retirement after defeating Gaethje.
He lost only one round against McGregor in his professional career, but he defeated the Irish man via submission neck-crank.
Some of his other accolades include most takedowns in a single UFC bout (21), second-most takedowns in UFC lightweight history (59) and fourth-most landed ground strikes in a single UFC bout (88).
Since retiring, Nurmagomedov has continued to coach several contenders including top-ranked lightweight Islam Makhachev. He also serves as the promoter for Eagle Fighting Championship.
