The Film Room: Khabib Nurmagomedov
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Khabib Nurmagomedov will put his undefeated record and Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown on the line when he meets interim titleholder Dustin Poirier in a unification bout atop UFC 242 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Both men enter the cage on the heels of career-defining performances, making the matchup all the more compelling.
Nurmagomedov steps into the spotlight in this installment of The
Film Room.
Although most wrestlers are known for their power takedowns, Nurmagomedov is an exception. Since he has a background in sambo and judo, a good majority of his takedowns come from the clinch. Most people are not familiar with sambo or its rich history, but it is more akin to judo than wrestling. Instead of shooting for takedowns, sambo stylists prefer to work their way to the clinch to look for trips, throws or the classic sambo drag down. A lot of Nurmagomedov’s takedowns look like he is simply wrapping around his opponent’s waist and throwing himself to the ground. However, sambo drags are all about using leverage and making sure you land in a position where you can quickly pass guard without allowing the opponent to scramble to his feet.
Once the fight hits the ground, Nurmagomedov will pass his opponent’s guard and either open up with strikes or look for submissions. Keep an eye on how he puts equal focus into the three. He never gets too overzealous with strikes to allow the opponent to escape, and he never wastes too much time improving position to look for submissions. What makes his grappling transitions so interesting is the unique positions in which he puts opponents. He often looks to trap the opponents’ legs between his and trap one of their arms behind their back, as he did against Michael Johnson. With both legs and one arm trapped, the opponent only has one free hand with which to block and is generally too flustered to improve position. He also likes to weave opponents’ legs between his in a full mount-like position, which severely limits their ability to scramble. Nurmagomedov also likes the crucifix position, which traps both of the opponents’ arms while keeping their legs free and puts enough pressure on their chest to make it difficult to buck up and out.
Nurmagomedov’s ground-and-pound is relentless. One of the interesting facets of his ground striking is the way he slightly lifts up on his toes to generate more power from the hips. A major concept in sambo is what is called “floating” above your opponents, which happens when the fighter on top leaves a small distance between the opponent, creating a false sense of security. Most of the time, Nurmagomedov’s opponents will think they have enough room to get back to their feet, but when they try to do so, he is right there again to drag them back to the mat. This not only discourages opponents but also allows a small amount of distance between them to generate more power in his ground strikes, knowing he can get them back down if they attempt to escape. The best example of this was his fight with Edson Barboza. Multiple times throughout the fight Nurmagomedov completely stood, with one hand on a grounded Barboza to get more power in his punches; anytime Barboza tried to escape, Nurmagomedov returned to the rear body lock and dragged him to the mat.
Lauded for his ground-and-pound and TKO finishes, Nurmagomedov actually has more submission victories than knockouts after his neck crank stoppage of McGregor in 2018. Early in his career, he fell in love with an armbar-to-triangle transition and won three fights in a row with this exact concept. Although he does not have much traditional jiu-jitsu experience, sambo and judo put more emphasis on submissions than most think, and since his opponents are so focused on his ground-and-pound, submissions can become easier to secure.
Nurmagomedov does not find himself striking with opponents often, but he has had brief moments of brilliance on the feet, especially with uppercuts. He throws what some call a shovel punch or “hooker-cut,” which is a blow that is halfway between a hook and an uppercut and comes at an odd angle. Early in his career, this hooker-cut was about the only thing he offered on the feet, but as his career has progressed, and he has developed a decent jab -- a punch with which he busted up Al Iaquinta. We like to think that Nurmagomedov is nowhere near the level of guys like Poirier on the feet, but in his last two fights, he has proven that his awkward style of striking can overwhelm opponents.
Nurmagomedov-McGregor was the biggest fight in MMA history, but the action was underwhelming. Everyone expected a close fight since the Dagestani brute had the obvious advantage on the ground and McGregor was the superior striker. However, Nurmagomedov controlled the fight on the feet and dominated on the ground for three rounds before finishing McGregor with a neck crank in the fourth. This fight proved that his striking, although unorthodox, is much trickier than it looks. Nurmagomedov knows where his advantages lie, and he is becoming a master at using the threat of his grappling to outstrike much better standup fighters. The biggest moment of the McGregor fight was the huge overhand right Nurmagomedov landed in the second round; and although it looked like a lucky shot, it was by design. He knew McGregor would be looking for his patented counter straight left anytime he moved forward. So instead of recklessly coming forward, he slightly dipped his shoulder and threw a rhythm-manipulating right hand. Notice how he dipped and started to throw the overhand but slightly delayed the punch so it landed on McGregor as he was turning his hips for the counter left -- absolutely beautiful stuff. He threw and landed this same right hand a few times throughout the fight, but none were more potent than the first one.
Early in his career, Nurmagomedov had some concerning habits on the feet. He would cut loose with wild and loopy punches that took him out of his stance. The momentum at times almost knocked him over. He would also walk forward with his hands low while crossing his feet -- a travesty in any discipline. Recently, his striking has looked better than ever and most of his old habits seem to be in check. Nurmagomedov trains with some of the best fighters in the world at the American Kickboxing Academy and has progressed into something more than just a grappler: a truly well-rounded martial artist.
Khabib Nurmagomedov will put his undefeated record and Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown on the line when he meets interim titleholder Dustin Poirier in a unification bout atop UFC 242 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Both men enter the cage on the heels of career-defining performances, making the matchup all the more compelling.
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Like many Russians, “The Eagle” started grappling at an early age.
At just 5 years old, he began training under his father, Abdulmanap
Nurmagomedov, a legendary combat sambo athlete and the coach of the
Republic of Dagestan national combat sambo team. Many
one-dimensional grapplers have been labeled as incomplete fighters.
Demian
Maia dominated with jiu-jitsu but lacks from a wrestling
standpoint. Brock
Lesnar was regarded as a dominant grappler, but his lack of
jiu-jitsu was easily exploited in his first UFC appearances. What
makes Nurmagomedov such an interesting and overwhelming grappler?
His exceptional skills everywhere on the ground. Whether it is
trips, throws, double-leg takedowns or simply dragging his opponent
to the mat, he can take down anybody in variety of ways. Something
interesting about his takedowns is the lack of setups. He rarely
uses his striking to set up entries and usually just rushes forward
and shoots. Obviously, he has not needed creative setups, as simply
shooting and grabbing any part of the body has been enough for
Nurmagomedov to work his way towards a takedown.
Although most wrestlers are known for their power takedowns, Nurmagomedov is an exception. Since he has a background in sambo and judo, a good majority of his takedowns come from the clinch. Most people are not familiar with sambo or its rich history, but it is more akin to judo than wrestling. Instead of shooting for takedowns, sambo stylists prefer to work their way to the clinch to look for trips, throws or the classic sambo drag down. A lot of Nurmagomedov’s takedowns look like he is simply wrapping around his opponent’s waist and throwing himself to the ground. However, sambo drags are all about using leverage and making sure you land in a position where you can quickly pass guard without allowing the opponent to scramble to his feet.
Once the fight hits the ground, Nurmagomedov will pass his opponent’s guard and either open up with strikes or look for submissions. Keep an eye on how he puts equal focus into the three. He never gets too overzealous with strikes to allow the opponent to escape, and he never wastes too much time improving position to look for submissions. What makes his grappling transitions so interesting is the unique positions in which he puts opponents. He often looks to trap the opponents’ legs between his and trap one of their arms behind their back, as he did against Michael Johnson. With both legs and one arm trapped, the opponent only has one free hand with which to block and is generally too flustered to improve position. He also likes to weave opponents’ legs between his in a full mount-like position, which severely limits their ability to scramble. Nurmagomedov also likes the crucifix position, which traps both of the opponents’ arms while keeping their legs free and puts enough pressure on their chest to make it difficult to buck up and out.
Nurmagomedov’s ground-and-pound is relentless. One of the interesting facets of his ground striking is the way he slightly lifts up on his toes to generate more power from the hips. A major concept in sambo is what is called “floating” above your opponents, which happens when the fighter on top leaves a small distance between the opponent, creating a false sense of security. Most of the time, Nurmagomedov’s opponents will think they have enough room to get back to their feet, but when they try to do so, he is right there again to drag them back to the mat. This not only discourages opponents but also allows a small amount of distance between them to generate more power in his ground strikes, knowing he can get them back down if they attempt to escape. The best example of this was his fight with Edson Barboza. Multiple times throughout the fight Nurmagomedov completely stood, with one hand on a grounded Barboza to get more power in his punches; anytime Barboza tried to escape, Nurmagomedov returned to the rear body lock and dragged him to the mat.
Lauded for his ground-and-pound and TKO finishes, Nurmagomedov actually has more submission victories than knockouts after his neck crank stoppage of McGregor in 2018. Early in his career, he fell in love with an armbar-to-triangle transition and won three fights in a row with this exact concept. Although he does not have much traditional jiu-jitsu experience, sambo and judo put more emphasis on submissions than most think, and since his opponents are so focused on his ground-and-pound, submissions can become easier to secure.
Nurmagomedov does not find himself striking with opponents often, but he has had brief moments of brilliance on the feet, especially with uppercuts. He throws what some call a shovel punch or “hooker-cut,” which is a blow that is halfway between a hook and an uppercut and comes at an odd angle. Early in his career, this hooker-cut was about the only thing he offered on the feet, but as his career has progressed, and he has developed a decent jab -- a punch with which he busted up Al Iaquinta. We like to think that Nurmagomedov is nowhere near the level of guys like Poirier on the feet, but in his last two fights, he has proven that his awkward style of striking can overwhelm opponents.
Nurmagomedov-McGregor was the biggest fight in MMA history, but the action was underwhelming. Everyone expected a close fight since the Dagestani brute had the obvious advantage on the ground and McGregor was the superior striker. However, Nurmagomedov controlled the fight on the feet and dominated on the ground for three rounds before finishing McGregor with a neck crank in the fourth. This fight proved that his striking, although unorthodox, is much trickier than it looks. Nurmagomedov knows where his advantages lie, and he is becoming a master at using the threat of his grappling to outstrike much better standup fighters. The biggest moment of the McGregor fight was the huge overhand right Nurmagomedov landed in the second round; and although it looked like a lucky shot, it was by design. He knew McGregor would be looking for his patented counter straight left anytime he moved forward. So instead of recklessly coming forward, he slightly dipped his shoulder and threw a rhythm-manipulating right hand. Notice how he dipped and started to throw the overhand but slightly delayed the punch so it landed on McGregor as he was turning his hips for the counter left -- absolutely beautiful stuff. He threw and landed this same right hand a few times throughout the fight, but none were more potent than the first one.
Early in his career, Nurmagomedov had some concerning habits on the feet. He would cut loose with wild and loopy punches that took him out of his stance. The momentum at times almost knocked him over. He would also walk forward with his hands low while crossing his feet -- a travesty in any discipline. Recently, his striking has looked better than ever and most of his old habits seem to be in check. Nurmagomedov trains with some of the best fighters in the world at the American Kickboxing Academy and has progressed into something more than just a grappler: a truly well-rounded martial artist.
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