Akin to the Grammy Awards for music, ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade to recognize individual and team athletic achievements and other sports-related performances. The ESPY Awards also have a dedicated best MMA fighter award. At ESPY 2021, Khabib Nurmagomedov received this honor.
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Receiving an ESPY award is not an effortless task to achieve. An individual has to be great in every aspect of the sport they practice. Considering Nurmagomedov‘s achievements in his illustrious MMA career (and his UFC 254 fight), it’s not surprising that he won the ‘Best MMA Fighter Award’ at ESPY 2021.
After ‘The Eagle’ won this award, the former UFC two-division champion, Daniel Cormier, made an Instagram post to congratulate him.
Cormier, in his Instagram post, said – “Congrats to my guy @khabib_nurmagomedov on winning the ESPY for MMA fighter of the year. Very proud of you my brother. Dude really did make the best fighters in the world look real average. This is crazy brother.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov – Professional record, Stat, Championships, and Achievements
Nurmagomedov retired with a spectacular undefeated professional MMA record of 29-0 (8 T/KO and 11 Submissions). He defeated several elite athletes such as Conor McGregor, Rafael dos Anjos, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and many more.
The ‘Eagle’ became the UFC lightweight champion when he defeated Al Iaquinta at UFC 223. He then successfully defended his UFC lightweight title three times before retiring after his last title defense against Gaethje at UFC 254.
As far as his achievements go, Nurmagomedov holds multiple records in the UFC. In his three rounds fight against Abel Trujillo at UFC 160, the ‘Eagle’ set the record for most takedowns in a single UFC fight (21 takedowns on 28 attempts). He also holds the record for most wins in UFC lightweight title fights history (4).
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Moreover, Nurmagomedov is the longest-reigning UFC lightweight champion to this day. These are just a few achievements out of several outstanding achievements of his MMA career.
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Is Khabib Nurmagomedov the best MMA fighter according to you?