On Saturday in Abu Dhabi, Khabib Nurmagomedov made his final argument as the greatest lightweight of all time, and what a glorious valedictory it was.
In the wake of Nurmagomedov’s retirement, debate has raged, and will likely continue to do so, over his place in the historical pantheon of lightweight champions as well as the mythical pound-for-pound list. Both arguments are of course inherently subjective, but it is worth noting that while he shares the record for UFC lightweight title defenses with B.J. Penn, Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson, all of Nurmagomedov’s defenses were against former or interim champions, all three opponents—Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Gaethje—were pound-for-pound talents in their own right, and Nurmagomedov finished all three in dominant fashion.
Ben Duffy/Sherdog.com illustration