Khabib On Never Reaching His Peak In UFC

Khabib Nurmagomedov walked away from MMA undefeated, but the retired lightweight champion says he never hit his ceiling inside the cage.

Nurmagomedov retired in 2020 with a 29-0 record after submitting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, but told Lex Fridman in a recent interview that fans never witnessed his full potential. "No, you've never seen my limit in fights," he said, per BJ Penn.

Gaethje Fight Came Closest To Peak Performance

When asked which bout brought him nearest to that ceiling, Nurmagomedov pointed to the Gaethje finish. The fight took place months after the death of his father and longtime coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. "First and foremost, it was because I had lost my father," he said. "It was hard to pull myself together. Everything had piled up at once."

He described a compromised training camp plagued by injuries, though his mental sharpness remained intact. The lightweight champion stopped Gaethje in the second round via triangle choke before announcing his retirement in the cage.

Nurmagomedov now coaches Islam Makhachev, who captured UFC gold at lightweight and welterweight. Makhachev broke Anderson Silva's record for consecutive UFC wins at UFC 330 earlier this month.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Khabib Nurmagomedov admits he never peaked despite legendary UFC run: “You’ve never seen my limit”