The Lightweight UFC champion shows off a new belt on the mats
Khabib Nurmagomedov has reached the pinnacle of several combat sports. He’s currently the undisputed UFC Lightweight Champion after making Conor McGregor tap at UFC 229; he is a black belt in Judo and also a two-time Sambo world champion.
But the Dagestani fighter is not one to flaunt his success, preferring to remain humble. That humility was on full display today as he wore a white belt in order to join a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class in Abu Dhabi. He explained that sport is about respect, regardless of who you may be and what you may have done.
Khabib has criticised BJJ in the past, famously wearing a shirt that said ‘If Sambo was easy it would be called BJJ’. But the star has also competed in high-level grappling competitions against elite BJJ practitioners.
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“It doesn’t matter, Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, or Sambo, it doesn’t matter. All sports teach us respect and to be humble,” he said.
“This is most important.”
Video credit: @aboodaj4_bjj.
Khabib’s latest opponent, Conor McGregor, is a brown belt in BJJ under coach John Kavanagh.
