Khabib Nurmagomedov Is UFC Hall Of Fame’s First 2022 Inductee

It didn’t take too long for the UFC to decide that Khabib Nurmagomedov is Hall of Fame material.

Nurmagomedov, who is often considered one of the best lightweights in the history of MMA, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He is the first inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

“Khabib is one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in professional sports,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement.

“No one dominated their opponents the way Khabib did, and to retire undefeated, as lightweight champion and the No.1 pound-for-pound athlete in the world is an incredible accomplishment. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

Nurmagomedov retired in October of 2020 after defeating Justin Gaethje.

He then vacated the title and retired as the undisputed and undefeated UFC lightweight champion, and the No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

The Russian fighter earned 13 UFC victories and defended his belt three times.

In title fights, he defeated Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Gaethje and Al Iaquinta.

After his father, who was also main coach died due to Covid-19 complications, he promised his mother that he wouldn’t be fighting again and announced retirement after defeating Gaethje.

He lost only one round against McGregor in his professional career, but he defeated the Irish man via submission neck-crank.

Some of his other accolades include most takedowns in a single UFC bout (21), second-most takedowns in UFC lightweight history (59) and fourth-most landed ground strikes in a single UFC bout (88).
He will be inducted in the Modern Wing and join Forrest Griffin, BJ Penn, Urijah Faber, Ronda Rousey, Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans and Georges St-Pierre. Modern Era fighters are the ones who made their debut after November 17, 2020.

The induction ceremony is scheduled in Las Vegas from June 27 to July 3.