Throwback Video: Khabib Nurmagomedov Admits Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s Contribution to Paving the Way for MMA

Khabib Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly one of the greatest MMA fighters in history. He retired from UFC with an undefeated record of 29 wins without any losses. The promotion inducted Khabib into the Hall of Fame in 2022. The Russian fighter once talked about the great Royce Gracie and the impact of his career on the sport of MMA.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has picked up many high-profile wins over big UFC names like Dustin Poirier and the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor. He has achieved pretty much everything there is in MMA before the age of 32. Khabib recently shocked the world after he announced that he will be leaving all aspects of MMA, including coaching his fighters.

‘The Eagle’ was always dominant inside the octagon. His wrestling skills are second to none. His ability to completely ragdoll his opponents inside the cage stood out among the fighters in the lightweight division. No one has been able to match the way Khabib uses wrestling in MMA. Khabib appeared on ‘The Muslim Money Guys’ podcast a couple of months ago and talked about UFC legend Royce Gracie and how his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu took MMA to a whole new level.

Khabib Nurmagomedov claims Royce Gracie was an excellent grappler

During the podcast, Khabib mentioned how good Royce Gracie was as a grappler and that made him a very unique and innovative fighter. He said, “Many people don’t know how to use, like grappling, submissions in the game you know because he was the first.”

Khabib added, “There were a lot of wrestlers and strikers. they fight with him [Gracie] and they were big, but they don’t have knowledge of how to deal with his Brazilian Jiu-Jistu, and yeah, he was looking amazing with these big guys.”

Khabib also mentions that the Gracie family showed the world that size is not a big issue in MMA. He also stated that Royce Gracie’s accomplishments in MMA were big news to the whole world.

Khabib said, “It was like big news for everyone around the world, even for Russian people, US people, you know, Europe people.” ‘The Eagle’ claims that what Gracie brought to the cage with his BJJ was new to the world to see.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov might have shocked the world with his announcement to do away with UFC altogether. He proved his credentials as a coach as much as he did as a fighter. Islam Makhachev was able to grasp lightweight gold under the tutelage of Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov. What are your thoughts on Khabib’s UFC career?

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